Sage vs. Lavender: A Savory Leaf and a Floral Bud

Sage is a bitter, camphor-scented leaf for sausages and stuffings. Culinary lavender is a floral bud that goes mostly into sweets and drinks. Both belong to the mint family, but their oils are built on different compounds: thujones lead sage oil, while linalool and linalyl acetate lead English lavender oil. They only meet in one place, savory roasts, and even there they’re more often partners than stand-ins. One twist: the lavenders that have the most in common with sage are the harsh ones.

Side by side

Why they taste so different

Dried sage leaves yield up to 2.5 percent essential oil, and PROSEA credits the thujones with sage’s strong signature smell. One Spanish sage oil it reports carried 22.8 percent α-thujone, 15.7 percent 1,8-cineole and 5.0 percent camphor.²

English lavender oil is built on two other compounds. In a study of 13 Ukrainian L. angustifolia cultivars, linalool and linalyl acetate were the main constituents of every sample, ranging from 11.4 to 46.7 percent and 7.4 to 44.2 percent. The authors note that the species is prized for its low camphor content.³

Those figures come from different studies. They’re here to show what leads each oil, not to compare one sample with another. Here’s the useful link: the Herb Society of America says the harsher lavenders, lavandin and L. stoechas, are high in cineole and camphor, which give them a strong, astringent aroma and bitter taste.¹ Cineole and camphor are two of sage’s main oil compounds.² So the lavenders with the most in common with sage are the harsh ones. For sweets, buy lavender labeled L. angustifolia.

How each is used

Sage is a savory herb. Its spice uses run to sausages, stuffings, soups and canned vegetables, and the fresh leaves go in herb butters, cheeses, liqueurs, pickles, salads and vinegars. America’s Test Kitchen counts it among the hearty herbs that go in early.⁵ It also anchors poultry seasoning, though not always as the lead herb. McCormick’s culinary blend lists thyme first, then sage, marjoram and rosemary.⁶ The University of Delaware puts sage in its strong-herb group and warns that too much can be extremely objectionable.⁷

Lavender is mostly a sweet herb. The Herb Society suggests it in cookies and cakes, infused in a simple syrup or honey for lemonade, iced tea, coffee and cocktails, or steeped in a dairy base for custard, pudding and ice cream.¹ On amounts, its advice is to use less than you think, because it’s easier to add as you go. The dried flowers have long gone into sachets to scent chests and closets. Use a heavy hand and your food tastes of perfume.

Where they overlap. The Herb Society suggests the lower-camphor lavandins ‘Provence’ and ‘Gros Bleu’ for savory cooking, blended with other herbs under a roast chicken’s skin or with beef, “especially when pairing with rosemary, sage, and thyme.”¹ So a little lavender can join sage in a roast. It doesn’t replace it.

Can one stand in for the other?

Not well.

• Sage for lavender, in sweets and drinks. No. Sage brings bitterness and camphor where lavender is supposed to be floral. Our lavender substitutes page suggests rose petals or citrus zest for that job.
• Sage for lavender, in a savory roast. Possible, though you’ll get a different dish, not a copy. Our lavender substitutes page ranks rosemary and thyme first for savory lavender. If sage is what you’ve got, start with about half as much sage as the lavender called for and taste.
• Lavender for sage. We wouldn’t. Our sage substitutes page covers the herbs that do the job: marjoram, thyme, rosemary and poultry seasoning. Lavender won’t give a stuffing or sausage the flavor people expect from it.

Safety

The FDA lists both as spices generally recognized as safe.⁴ NCCIH says sage is likely safe in the amounts commonly found in foods, though it may be unsafe during pregnancy because of its thujone,⁸ and that lavender is likely safe in the amounts typically used in foods.⁹ The European Medicines Agency concluded that the benefits of sage essential oil don’t outweigh its risks.¹⁰ That applies to the concentrated oil, not the dried leaf. The health research on lavender is about lavender oil products, not the culinary herb.⁹

What isn’t known

• We found no study analyzing sage and lavender oils side by side. The compound figures come from different studies.
• You’ll often read that sage “cuts through” fat because of astringent oils. We found no source that tests it.

Related

• Profiles: sage and lavender
• Substitutes: sage substitutes and lavender substitutes
• Comparisons: rosemary vs. sage, rosemary vs. lavender and hyssop vs. lavender
• Cooking: cooking with sage, cooking with lavender, too much sage and poultry seasoning