Honey part 2

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HERBAL HONEYS Herbal honeys are made by pouring honey over fresh herbs and allowing them to merge over a period of several days to several months. When herbs are infused into honey, the water-loving honey absorbs all the water-soluble components of the herb, and all the volatile oils too, most of which are anti-infective. Herbal honeys are medicinal and they taste great. When I look at my shelf of herbal honeys I feel like the richest person in the world. USING YOUR HERBAL HONEYS Place a tablespoonful of your herbal honey (include herb as well as honey) into a mug; add boiling water; stir and drink. Or, eat herbal honeys by the spoonful right from the jar to soothe and heal sore, infected throats and tonsils. Smear the honey (no herb please) onto wounds and burns. MAKE AN HERBAL HONEY Coarsely chop the fresh herb of your choice (leave garlic whole). Put chopped herb into a wide-mouthed jar, filling almost to the top. Pour honey into the jar, working it into the herb with a chopstick if needed. Add a little more honey to fill the jar to the very top. Cover tightly. Label. Your herbal honey is ready to use in as little as a day or two, but will be more medicinal if allowed to sit for six weeks. Herbal honeys made from aromatic herbs make wonderful

gifts. MAKE A RUSSIAN COLD REMEDY Fill a small jar with unpeeled cloves of garlic. If desired, add one very small onion, cut in quarters, but not peeled. Fill the jar with honey. Label and cover. This remedy is ready to use the next day. It is taken by the spoonful to ward off both colds and flus. It is sovereign against sore throats, too. And it tastes yummy! (Garlic may also carry botulinus spores, but no adult has ever gotten botulism from this remedy. A local restaurant poisoned patrons by keeping garlic in olive

oil near a hot stove for months before using it, though.) MAKE AN EGYPTIAN WOUND SALVE "I thought at first this would be dreadful stuff to put on an open wound . . . Instead, the bacteria in the fat disappeared and when pathogenic bacteria were added . . . they were killed just as fast," commented scientists who tested this formula found in the ancient Papyrus. Mix one tablespoonful of honey with two tablespoonsful of organic animal fat. Put in a small jar and label. Increase the wound-healing ability of this salve by using an herbally-infused fat. MAKE A REMEDY TO COUNTER DIARRHEA Fill one glass with eight ounces of orange juice. Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoonful of honey. Fill another glass with eight ounces of distilled water. Add ¼ teaspoonful of baking soda. Drink alternately from both glasses until empty. MAKE DR. CHRISTOPHER'S BURN HEALER He recommends this for burns covering large areas. Keep the burn constantly wet with this healer for best results. Place chopped fresh comfrey leaves

in a blender. Add aloe vera gel to half cover. Add honey to cover. Blend and apply. Best to make only as much as you can use in a day; store extra in refrigerator. FRESH PLANTS THAT I USE TO MAKE HERBAL HONEYS Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)Comfrey leaf (Symphytum off.)Cronewort/mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)Fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare)Garlic (Allium sativum)Ginger root (Zingiber officinalis)Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)Lavender (Lavendula off.)Lemon Balm ( off.)Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla)Marjoram (Origanum majorana)Oregano (Origanum vulgare)Osha root

(Ligusticum porterii)Peppermint (Mentha pipperata)Rose petals ( canina and others)Rose hips ()Rosemary (Rosmarinus off.)Sage (Salvia off.)Shiso (Perilla frutescens)Spearmint (Mentha spicata)Thyme (Thymus species)Yarrow blossoms (Achillea millefolium) HERBAL SYRUPS Herbal syrups are sweetened, condensed herbal infusions. Cough drops are concentrated syrups. Alcohol is frequently added to syrups to help prevent fermentation and stabilize the remedy. Cough drops and lozenges, having less water, keep well without the addition of alcohol. Bitter herbs, especially when effective in a fairly small dose, are often made into syrups: horehound, yellow dock, dandelion, chicory, and motherwort spring to mind in this regard. Herbs that are especially effective in relieving throat infections and breathing problems are also frequently made into syrups, especially when honey is used as

the sweetener: coltsfoot flowers (not leaves), comfrey leaves (not roots), horehound, elder berries, mullein, osha root, pine, sage, and wild cherry bark are favorites for "cough" syrups. USING HERBAL SYRUPS A dose of most herbal syrup is 1-3 teaspoonfuls, taken as needed. Take a spoonful of bitter syrup just before meals for best results. Take cough syrups as often as every hour. MAKE AN HERBAL SYRUP To make an herbal syrup you will need the following supplies: One ounce of dried herb (weight, not volume) A clean dry quart/liter jar with a tight lid Boiling water Measuring cup A heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan 2 cups sugar or 1½ cups honey A sterilized jar with a small neck and a good lid (a cork stopper is ideal) A little vodka (optional) A label and pen Place the full ounce of dried herb into the quart jar and fill it to the top with boiling water. Cap tightly. After 4-10 hours, decant your infusion, saving the liquid and squeezing the

herb to get the last of the goodness out of it. Measure the amount of liquid you have (usually about 3½ cups). Pour this into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat until the infusion is just barely simmering. Continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by half (pour it out of the pan and into the measuring cup now and then to check). This step can take several hours; the decoction is not spoiled if it is reduced to less than half, but it is ruined if it boils hard or if it burns. Keep a close eye on it. When you have reduced the infusion to less then two cups, add the sugar or honey (or sweetener of your choice) and bring to a rolling boil. Pour, boiling hot, into your jar. (Sterilize the jar by boiling it in plain water for a few minutes just before filling it.) If desired, add some vodka to preserve the syrup. Allow the bottle of syrup to come to room temperature. Label it. Store it in the refrigerator or keep it in a

cool place. MAKE HERBAL COUGH DROPS You must make a syrup with sugar, not honey to make cough drops, but you can use raw sugar or brown sugar instead of white sugar and it will work just as well. Instead of pouring your boiling hot syrup into a bottle, keep boiling it. Every minute or so, drop a bit into cold water. When it forms a hard ball in the cold water, immediately turn off the fire. Pour your very thick syrup into a buttered flat dish. Cool, then cut into small squares. A dusting of powdered sugar will keep them from sticking. Store airtight in a cool place. MAKE THROAT-SOOTHING LOZENGES Put an ounce of marshmallow root powder or slippery elm bark powder in a bowl. Slowly

add honey, stirring constantly, until you have a thick paste Roll your slippery elm paste into small balls Roll the balls in more slippery elm powder Store in a tightly-closed tin. These will keep for up to ten years. Suzi List Owner health/ http://360./suziesgoats What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

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