Let's Talk About: Tinctures, Elixirs, and Cordials

Tincture corner of my herb shelf, A. Shehan

I love herbs, and I also enjoy alcohol. You dedicated readers know for sure that I adore honey...so I generally do my best to combine those three ingredients in as many forms as possible.

My cabinets are full of jars, and those jars are full of strange floating bits in colored liquid. It makes me feel my most witchy to open that cabinet and bring out strange brews to share with friends.  I have many jars that are medicine, and jars that are for fun, and jars that are a bit of both.

Tinctures are medicinal extracts of herbs in alcohol. Some folks use moonshine and other high-test likkers for their tinctures, but I tend to use a medium-brand, triple-distilled vodka so I don't have to dilute the tincture until it's ingested.  If you aren't into vodka, a nice brandy is a good alternative.

The process for making a tincture is simple:

Get an herb, fresh or dried.
Put said herb into a jar.
Pour alcohol to cover the herb.
Put a lid on it, and give it a good shake every now and again
Strain after 3-6 weeks and label clearly.

Now, tinctures are potent!  When you take tinctures, please do a lot of research if you are dosing yourself, or find a practiced herbalist to give you guidance.  Some tinctures, such as poke root or teasel, only need a couple of drops per day to be effective and more than that can cause you harm.

Elixirs are the sweetened version of those alcohol-expressed medicines.  I tend to make "sipping" elixirs out of the more tasty herb tinctures.  These can almost cross the line into cordials, which while they may have medicinal benefits, are mostly just for pleasure.  The sharp tang of elderberry cordial is lovely, but I try to save it for when I'm feeling sick.  To use an elixir, just pour a bit into your hot tea, or into a brandy snifter to sip on for a while.

Then there are the less-than-tasty herbal medicines...adding sweetener to the more bitter or astringent herb tinctures can make ingesting them a more palatable experience, especially with kids.  Valerian and Horehound are good examples of herbs that can use a splash of honey to cut their bitter strength!

Elixirs are easy to make:

You can start out with a tincture and add a simple syrup (recipe below).  Add the cooled syrup to tincture in small bits, then shake the mix to blend it, and then taste.  If it isn't right, add more and taste again!  Be careful, these are meant to be sipped as they are still potent medicine, and this sweetening and tasting process can get you loopy.

Simple Syrup:
Boil one cup of water.
Add two cups of sugar (or 1.5 cup of honey, or agave, or whatever you prefer!)
Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat.
Allow to cool.

Otherwise, you can use the lazy method. Pour a dollop of honey into a strained tincture and give it a shake.  It works, but it ends up being super sticky and thick compared to the simple syrup process described above.

I hope that helps to demystify some of the process and allow you to play around with your Junior Alchemist kit in your kitchen, and have another way to use your herb harvest before the final frost takes it from you!

Cordials and Tinctures, 2011, Amber Shehan

Here are some cordials and tinctures that I have in the works.  All of these are in 40% vodka.

In the back, we have Cranberry cordial.  I buy cranberries when they go on sale every holiday season, and freeze them if I don't use them immediately.  This jar has been full for close to a year, and will remain there until the berries have lost a bit more color to the alcohol.  Then there will be a sugar syrup added (perhaps brown sugar this year) and it will sit and settle until Thanksgiving or Christmas.  

Clockwise, we next have goldenrod tincture.  Goldenrod will have his own post soon, so I'll move on to the next little jar.

Yarrow was a strong sister plant for me this year.  She sprang up tall and magnificent from the patch I prepared and transplanted her the first year I lived here.  The fronds on this plant were humongous, and her flowers plentiful! Yarrow tincture is good for keeping insects at bay when applied externally, and is an amazing wound cleaner as well.  She'll be handy to keep around for next spring.

Lemon Balm, Sweet Melissa, fills out the next jar with her flat, wide leaves.  I crushed them with my fingers as I put them in the jar, to release her lemony, sharp oils.  This plant is excellent for anxiety, depression, any emotional rollercoasters and overwhelming dizziness can be slowed down by a couple drops in water and a couple of deep breaths.

Lastly, we have valerian and mint.  Some folks can't stand the smell of Valerian, but I'm quite fond of it.  The mint is there to make it palatable, sure, but it also has it's own benefits in the realm of gas relief and relaxation.  In a couple of weeks, I'll strain that jar and add some honey to the tincture and shake it together for a tonic cordial.  My delicate-tummied love sometimes ends up unable to sleep at night with gut pains keeping him awake...but after one good slug of valerian and mint cordial, there's a couple of burps and then a symphony of snores!

This is my last fresh-harvest hurrah for the season.  This week, I'll be making tasty treats using the elixir method with rum instead of vodka, and leftover apple peels that would otherwise be discarded.  Winter is nigh, and I'm set on having plenty of tasty, warming medicines to get me and my loved ones through!

A Pixies Pocket Honey Giveaway!

Image by Modern Scribe Photography

Thank You, dear readers!

As many of you may realize,  I have been moving my infused honey shop from it's longtime home at Etsy to it's very own webpage. 

I made a Facebook fan page for the new website.  I told my followers there that when I reached 100 "Likes," I would present the first ever giveaway on my little ole blog!

So, thank you...

You did it, and here we are!

The Pixies Pocket Honey Giveaway on Swamp Pixie Herbal!!!

The lucky winner will receive:

• 4oz jar of Pixie's Pocket infused honey, your choice!

• 1 oz dried yarrow flowers and leaf, harvested from my own chemical free, native yarrow plant.  For more info, visit my listing on Poppyswap.com.

• 1 oz dried spearmint from my chemical-free garden, strong and refreshing!  Click to read more about the joys of Mint.

• An assortment of fine teas: You need SOMETHING to put that honey into, right?

•  An exclusive coupon code for 20% off of your next purchase from PixiesPocket.com!

• Also? Surprises. And who doesn't love surprises?

How to enter:

Visit Pixies Pocket.com and check out the current product selection.  Return to this post, and leave me a comment telling me which honey flavor you want a chance to try! 

Earn extra chances to win by doing the following, and leave a comment for each to let me know you did so.  If you have already been following my social media, you can comment too. I appreciate you!

• Following me on Twitter

• Liking my Facebook page

• Signing up for my mailing list

I will choose a random winner to be announced on next Friday, September 9, 2011! 

Share! Repost! Retweet! Repeat!

Learning about Native Appalachian Plants and Herbs

Amber by Modern Scribe Photography

Howdy, everyone...I hope Spring's been keeping you as joyfully busy as it's been keeping me! Between building the chicken coop, filling honey orders, and jumping on the trampoline, I've been keeping the growing things tended.

Oh, yes...I've been exploring and cultivating my yard like a thing possessed... since I last checked in:

~We've succeeded in moving decorative boxwoods from the only flat, sunny, well-draining spot in the front yard up to the top of a ridge to help combat the erosion there. Sarah and I got all scratched up and dirty and sweaty and happy while accomplishing that task.

~We broke up the soil in the newly cleared spot (about 4x5) and added some composted cow manure and sand, and worked it into the clay. While pulling out weeds and roots and rock, we saw more worms than I could count! They are certainly welcome guests. May they continue to grow and prosper here!

~We transplanted our tomato starts into that new place - a Cherokee Purple, a Jeune Flame, and two Oregon Spring tomato plants. We made cages for the bushy plants and stakes for the climbers. They all seem to be doing well, but the Oregon Spring tomatoes are a little slower than the Cherokee Purple and the Jeune Flame, who are flowering to beat the band.

In the House of Herbs Greenhouse by Modern Scribe Photo.

~We got a Crookneck Squash, an Old Timey Kentucky Pumpkin, and a Pickling Cucumber vine from House of Herbs here in Candler, North Carolina. They are thriving and we already have a squash starting to swell! I did the happy dance when I saw it, and ran inside to tell the whole household. They know I'm a dork and love me anyways!

~The other side of our front porch also has good drainage, and gets mostly dappled sunlight and shade due to the ornamental cherry trees that shield that side of the house.  This is where I've decided to relocate our pallet-bed...the spot where I put it initially was too sunny and wind-blown. One quadrant of the bed has some struggling spinach coming up, and one little lettuce sprout. I think they've been too warm and dry, but they may do better in their new home.

~In the second quadrant of the pallet-bed, we have some freshly transplanted Basil seedlings, and a healthy and happy Oregano plant. I've also planted a Comfrey plant that I got from House of Herbs.

~Also on the herbal front, there are some happily growing peppermint plants and soapwort plants in pots on the porch, as they are both rather invasive. I've planted a native Elderberry bush and it is thriving on the hill under the Oak tree's dappled shade, and we have a German Chamomile and White Lavender plants in full sun alongside the Chrysanthemum that I thought had died last fall, but is now starting to make quite a show.

Pisgah Waterfall by Modern Scribe Photography

~Wildcrafting: So far this spring, I've learned quite a bit about native plants of the Appalachians. I've correctly identified Trillium, Mayapple, Wild Ginger, and Umbrella tree while slipping and sliding and busting my butt climbing around the wild slopes and waterfalls of the Pisgah National Forest. I think that I also saw Solomon's Seal and Bloodroot, but I'm not 100% and will bring a book next time!

Bee, Closeup - by Modern Scribe Photography

~Even just while wandering our yard, I've identified:
Cinquefoil (Rough-fruited or Sulfur Cinquefoil, another "noxious weed" with medicinal uses. Stay Tuned for more.)
Red Clover (stay tuned for more)
Ox-eye Daisy
Dock, both Curly Leafed and otherwise
Wild Yarrow (Milfoil)
Bittersweet Nightshade
Plantain (stay tuned for more)
Japanese Honeysuckle (Invasive! I've trimmed it back quite a bit, and plan to use the flowers to flavor a wine) 
Dandelion (which is now a mead brewing)
Wild Blackberries (smells so sweet!)

So if I'm too muddy, tired, and sunbaked to blog about it as often as I did before, bear with me...I'll keep you posted as often I can!

Let's Talk About: Peppermint

Mint Honey by Modern Scribe Photography

If you want something quick and easy to grow that will spread like wildfire and provide you with a bounty of uses, might I suggest you plant a bit of mint?

Rapidly growing and even considered invasive by many, Peppermint has been part of medicinal gardens as long as we've had organized agriculture.

Menthol comes from peppermint, and it is a powerful medicinal ally! It isn't only good as a flavoring and a breath freshener, but that is how most folks are familiar with peppermint.

The wonder of mint goes way beyond candy canes. It can be used for many different things, both internally and externally:

Your Stomach

• When you've had too much to eat and you feel bloated and crampy, mint is great for releasing the extra pressure. In layman's terms, it will make you fart and burp like a human orchestra, much to the delight of giggling fools, like myself. 

• If you are prone to suffer from bad digestion, heartburn, nausea, or constipation, mint might be a suitable, gentle ally to ease your pain. I bet that you thought that the mints given out at restaurants was a subtle hint from the waitress about the oniony and garlicky food scenting your breath, didn't you?

• This is also the reason that mint jelly or mint sauce is traditionally served with lamb, as it tends to be gamey and tough. The peppermint aids in the digestion by increasing bile flow, which in turn helps to break down the meat.

Your Head

• Feeling Anxious? Panicked? Sweating under the collar and freaking out? A cup of mint tea, or even just a big sniff of mint essential oil is great for calming the mind. Breathe it in, hold your breath for four seconds, breathe out and let yourself relax.

• Stimulate your brain! Exam study sessions might stay with you longer if you have mint at hand. The crisp smell of spearmint or peppermint seems to sharpen focus and offer a sense of clarity during stressful times.

Your Hot Blood

• Mint is considered a "refrigerant" for your body...did you ever wonder why it's such a common thing to have a spring of mint in your iced tea? It doesn't just flavor your drink - it keeps you cooler in the hot summertime haze.

• This wonderful property also makes it an addition to a tea for lowering fevers. Mint also serves as a wonderful disguise for "stronger" flavors like horehound, valerian, and hops, making beneficial decoctions easier to share with those with less... um... sophisticated palates.

Your Aching Body

• Peppermint oil is used in balms and salves for it's analgesic and cooling properties. I can be both stimulating to the skin and it's blood flow, but cool any inflammation in the muscles. This makes it great for arthritis, especially when combined with camphor.

Your Home

• Since it is so strongly scented, mint is often a deterrent for mosquitoes. 

• If you forget your mint spray and get bitten, freshly crushed mint leaves or a salve can help with the itching!

• Dried, crushed mint leaves tend to be a deterrent for ants that try to invade your space. You can use tea bags as sachets in cabinets with pest problems.

I have Mint Honey available in The Pixie's Pocket shop, which is a quick and easy way to add it to tea, toast, or anything else you may fancy! If you wish to purchase dried mint, essential oils, hydrosols, or even seeds, please support your local organic retailers, or try Mountain Rose Herbs.