This is the time of year when the life-force of the earth, so to speak, is at its fullest. All around us, plants are shooting up by inches each day, flowers are springing open into vibrant color, and the chorophyll is so rich we can almost see it floating in the air. Just imagine, to begin with, the amount of nutrition held in these wild plants at this stage. Imagine the ecstatic vitality coursing through them. Imagine if we could distill those essences into some kind of elixer, and keep it with us through the year. Luckily, we can.
There are many, many ways to turn plants into food and medicine. Which one you use depends on your particular herbs, which properties you need, shelf-life, and user-friendliness (just for starters). In this case, I would say there are two that are appropriate: infusion and acetum.
The herbs that we're using are, like springtime, fleeting. I know, some of them will be around all summer, but before long even they will fade - becoming pale, relatively dry and tough. So we want to gather them now and process them quickly. Any preparation - made responsibly and with intent - will carry what we might call the "personality" or "spiritual" aspects of the herb, including general physical effects. On the chemical level, different techniques will preserve and deliver different constituents.
An infusion, better known as a tea, will mainly extract some minerals, bitters, mucilage, and aromatics. When a good blend of springtime wild herbs is used, the drink will be highly nutritive, stimulating to the lymphatic system, tonic to the liver, slightly diuretic and, to balance that out, a bit moistening. One example of this is my Wild Renewal Tea. The downside to this method is that, remember, these herbs are fleeting. Even a properly dried and stored tea blend will only really be good for a few months.
What we're going to make today is an acetum, or vinegar extract. Vinegar, as a fermented food, has a whole host of healthy attributes on it's own. Furthermore, while it delivers most of the same properties as a tea, it's particularly good at extracting minerals and converting them to a form that's easily absorbed by our bodies. When you use the apple cider variety, as we do here, you also get the many benefits of apples. Combine that with the actual herbs and you have a powerfully supportive and restorative everyday tonic.
What's nice about this preparation is that it truly is "food as medicine". There are no worries about specific dosage or interactions, and it's delicious as well. Of course, the exact taste will depend on exactly what you put in it. A tablespoon or so mixed into a glass of water is tasty and refreshing. It goes nicely in marinades and salad dressings, or simply drizzled over rice, steamed vegetables or tempeh. You can add it to soups and stocks. Use your imagination!
Here's what you'll need:
Clean glass jar with a lid (I use a 1-quart mason jar, but anything will work)
Enough organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) to mostly fill the jar
Clean screen or towel
Waxed paper
painter's tape (or similar) and marker
Strainer
Cheesecloth, jelly bag, or clean bandanna
funnel
clean bottle(s)
Yard or field full of weeds - make sure it's free of chemicals, road spray, etc.
Some suggestions:
raspberry leaf (red or black): nutritive, astringent, tones internal tissues*
violet leaf and flower: nutritive, moistening, lymph-stimulating, "uplifts the heart"
dandelion - mostly leaf and and a few flowers: nutritive, diuretic, supports digestion
chickweed: lymph-stimulating, moistening
stinging nettle (wear gloves!): highly nutritive, diuretic, regulates stress response
cleavers: lymph-stimulating, "cools and filters the inner waters"
common mallow: moistening, tones mucous membranes, soothes internal tissues
oat straw and tops: nutritive, supports nervous system
red clover: toning to internal tissues, supports liver and lymph, mildly blood-thinning
1) Take your jar out on a pleasant day, when the plants are dry (no rain or dew) but not stressed by heat - late morning is best if you can manage it - and start picking. I suggest going easy on the diuretic herbs if you tend toward dry skin, tight sinuses, etc., but really any combination that's available and strikes your fancy is just fine. Choose the cleanest, most vibrant, healthiest-looking plant parts you can find. A few bug holes or dry edges won't hurt; just use your judgement. Pay attention to the feel and smell of the plants, the air on your skin, the sounds of birds or insects - enjoy yourself.
2) Fill your jar with herbs, packing them down lightly, since they'll shrink during the next step. Brush off any dirt (and bugs!) as you go, but so long as it's a good area they don't need to be washed. If you have any particularly large leaves, roughly tear or chop them up.
3) Go inside and find a level, well-ventilated place where the plants will be undisturbed. Lay out the towel or screen, and spread your herbs on it in a thin layer. It's okay if they overlap a little. Let them sit for a few hours or overnight until they're considerably wilted but not dry. We call this fresh-wilting; it concentrates their properties and avoids diluting the vinegar too much while retaining the virtue of fresh herbs.
4) Return the wilted herbs to the jar, which should now be about 1/2 - 2/3 full.
5) Shake up your bottle of ACV so that the mother is evenly distributed, and pour it over the herbs, filling the jar almost to the top.
6) If your lid is plastic, put it on tight. If it's metal, place a piece of folded waxed paper over the jar, and put the lid on over that. Vinegar will corrode metal. Shake well.
7) Using the tape or whatever you want, label the jar with the contents and date. Right now. If you decide to do it later, you will forget the details - I speak from experience. If there's too much stuff to fit on the label, give it a name and put your list of ingredients in a notebook under that heading.
8) Put your jar in a warm place where you'll see it regularly, and shake it every day or two for about two weeks, or if it appeals to you, from the new moon to the full. After a day or so, the herbs will absorb the vinegar and swell. If they stick up above the liquid level and are still packed together, add more ACV until they are either covered or floating. If they're just floating in the first place, make sure to shake daily and don't worry about it.
9) When the time is up, set up your bottle(s) with the funnel in the top, then the strainer. If you don't mind a few tiny plant bits in your acetum (and I see nothing wrong with that), go ahead and pour the contents of the jar through this into the bottle. If you want it clearer, add the cloth on top of the strainer. In any case, once all the free liquid has run through, wrap the wet herbs up in the cloth, twist the top together, and squeeze, letting the liquid drip into the funnel to get every bit of tonic you can.
10) Cap and label the bottle(s) and compost the spent herbs. Eat, drink, and be well!
This does not need to be refrigerated and should keep for at least a year (preferably away from excessive heat or light). Of course, of you do notice mold, bubbles, or anything else suspicious, you should probably consider it expired and think back for any sources of contamination.
*Please note that these are extremely abbreviated descriptions. All of these herbs are food-like and safe (though if you take too much dandelion leaf, you'll know it), but there is much more information out there if you want to get a better idea of the plant.
There are many, many ways to turn plants into food and medicine. Which one you use depends on your particular herbs, which properties you need, shelf-life, and user-friendliness (just for starters). In this case, I would say there are two that are appropriate: infusion and acetum.
The herbs that we're using are, like springtime, fleeting. I know, some of them will be around all summer, but before long even they will fade - becoming pale, relatively dry and tough. So we want to gather them now and process them quickly. Any preparation - made responsibly and with intent - will carry what we might call the "personality" or "spiritual" aspects of the herb, including general physical effects. On the chemical level, different techniques will preserve and deliver different constituents.
An infusion, better known as a tea, will mainly extract some minerals, bitters, mucilage, and aromatics. When a good blend of springtime wild herbs is used, the drink will be highly nutritive, stimulating to the lymphatic system, tonic to the liver, slightly diuretic and, to balance that out, a bit moistening. One example of this is my Wild Renewal Tea. The downside to this method is that, remember, these herbs are fleeting. Even a properly dried and stored tea blend will only really be good for a few months.
What we're going to make today is an acetum, or vinegar extract. Vinegar, as a fermented food, has a whole host of healthy attributes on it's own. Furthermore, while it delivers most of the same properties as a tea, it's particularly good at extracting minerals and converting them to a form that's easily absorbed by our bodies. When you use the apple cider variety, as we do here, you also get the many benefits of apples. Combine that with the actual herbs and you have a powerfully supportive and restorative everyday tonic.
What's nice about this preparation is that it truly is "food as medicine". There are no worries about specific dosage or interactions, and it's delicious as well. Of course, the exact taste will depend on exactly what you put in it. A tablespoon or so mixed into a glass of water is tasty and refreshing. It goes nicely in marinades and salad dressings, or simply drizzled over rice, steamed vegetables or tempeh. You can add it to soups and stocks. Use your imagination!
Here's what you'll need:
Clean glass jar with a lid (I use a 1-quart mason jar, but anything will work)
Enough organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) to mostly fill the jar
Clean screen or towel
Waxed paper
painter's tape (or similar) and marker
Strainer
Cheesecloth, jelly bag, or clean bandanna
funnel
clean bottle(s)
Yard or field full of weeds - make sure it's free of chemicals, road spray, etc.
Some suggestions:
raspberry leaf (red or black): nutritive, astringent, tones internal tissues*
violet leaf and flower: nutritive, moistening, lymph-stimulating, "uplifts the heart"
dandelion - mostly leaf and and a few flowers: nutritive, diuretic, supports digestion
chickweed: lymph-stimulating, moistening
stinging nettle (wear gloves!): highly nutritive, diuretic, regulates stress response
cleavers: lymph-stimulating, "cools and filters the inner waters"
common mallow: moistening, tones mucous membranes, soothes internal tissues
oat straw and tops: nutritive, supports nervous system
red clover: toning to internal tissues, supports liver and lymph, mildly blood-thinning
1) Take your jar out on a pleasant day, when the plants are dry (no rain or dew) but not stressed by heat - late morning is best if you can manage it - and start picking. I suggest going easy on the diuretic herbs if you tend toward dry skin, tight sinuses, etc., but really any combination that's available and strikes your fancy is just fine. Choose the cleanest, most vibrant, healthiest-looking plant parts you can find. A few bug holes or dry edges won't hurt; just use your judgement. Pay attention to the feel and smell of the plants, the air on your skin, the sounds of birds or insects - enjoy yourself.
2) Fill your jar with herbs, packing them down lightly, since they'll shrink during the next step. Brush off any dirt (and bugs!) as you go, but so long as it's a good area they don't need to be washed. If you have any particularly large leaves, roughly tear or chop them up.
3) Go inside and find a level, well-ventilated place where the plants will be undisturbed. Lay out the towel or screen, and spread your herbs on it in a thin layer. It's okay if they overlap a little. Let them sit for a few hours or overnight until they're considerably wilted but not dry. We call this fresh-wilting; it concentrates their properties and avoids diluting the vinegar too much while retaining the virtue of fresh herbs.
4) Return the wilted herbs to the jar, which should now be about 1/2 - 2/3 full.
5) Shake up your bottle of ACV so that the mother is evenly distributed, and pour it over the herbs, filling the jar almost to the top.
6) If your lid is plastic, put it on tight. If it's metal, place a piece of folded waxed paper over the jar, and put the lid on over that. Vinegar will corrode metal. Shake well.
7) Using the tape or whatever you want, label the jar with the contents and date. Right now. If you decide to do it later, you will forget the details - I speak from experience. If there's too much stuff to fit on the label, give it a name and put your list of ingredients in a notebook under that heading.
8) Put your jar in a warm place where you'll see it regularly, and shake it every day or two for about two weeks, or if it appeals to you, from the new moon to the full. After a day or so, the herbs will absorb the vinegar and swell. If they stick up above the liquid level and are still packed together, add more ACV until they are either covered or floating. If they're just floating in the first place, make sure to shake daily and don't worry about it.
9) When the time is up, set up your bottle(s) with the funnel in the top, then the strainer. If you don't mind a few tiny plant bits in your acetum (and I see nothing wrong with that), go ahead and pour the contents of the jar through this into the bottle. If you want it clearer, add the cloth on top of the strainer. In any case, once all the free liquid has run through, wrap the wet herbs up in the cloth, twist the top together, and squeeze, letting the liquid drip into the funnel to get every bit of tonic you can.
10) Cap and label the bottle(s) and compost the spent herbs. Eat, drink, and be well!
This does not need to be refrigerated and should keep for at least a year (preferably away from excessive heat or light). Of course, of you do notice mold, bubbles, or anything else suspicious, you should probably consider it expired and think back for any sources of contamination.
*Please note that these are extremely abbreviated descriptions. All of these herbs are food-like and safe (though if you take too much dandelion leaf, you'll know it), but there is much more information out there if you want to get a better idea of the plant.