It's summer! And anyone growing herbs right now probably has more than you know what to do with. Aside from drying or freezing, making herbal infusions is an awesome way to preserve your herb harvest. It's easy to do, and the possibilities are vast. The old herbalism term for these concoctions is "oxymel."
You'll need your chosen herbs, a clean glass jar, raw honey and/or raw vinegar. Raw is best because of the beneficial bacteria, but you can use whatever you have on hand. I usually use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
Make sure your herbs are clean and dry, and chop them up. If they have a woody stem, remove them from the stem first. Pack your herbs firmly into a clean jar. Pour your honey or vinegar over them until they are completely covered. You might have to stir or shake the jar a little to get all the air bubbles out. I put a layer of wax paper on top to keep the metal lid from corroding. Leave in a cool, dark place for a minimum of two weeks. After two weeks, you can strain and use the honey/vinegar, or simply let it infuse until you're ready to use it. These stay good pretty much indefinitely. I often make a bunch of these things in the summer, and stock up the pantry and forget about them until I'm ready to use them in the winter. Occasionally, if I used honey alone and there is a lot of moisture in the herbs, I will end up with alcohol. I've made a few accidental herbal meads...and I don't really have a problem with that. I just use them a little differently if they go hard!
You can use all honey, all vinegar, or any combination of the two. The medicinal and culinary applications for these infusions are vast. Any medicinal property the herb has will be infused into the honey and vinegar.
Flavorful and aromatic herbs, rhizomes, flowers are the best ones to use because the final product will taste great. Here are a few examples of ones that I've made and what I used them for.
Mint, sage, thyme, rose petals, lemon balm, ginger, turmeric, or rosemary infused in honey are all great for sweetening tea. Thyme and sage honey are good for sore throat. Ginger and turmeric honey are good all-purpose immune boosters. Rose and mint help give me a lift if I have seasonal depression in the winter. These are all really good alone, or with tea, or simply used as you would plain honey. I often have them in a cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon.
A chive blossom infused honey is awesome used as a glaze for chicken.
Dried spices and chilies toasted and crushed can be used to make spicy honey, which is delicious with pita bread and cheese.
For infusing vinegars to make salad dressing or marinades, I use winter savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, sage, and garlic. I use about 90% vinegar and about 10% honey. These all make a really tasty vinegar to be used in any cooking application you want.
In the summer I like to make mint-infused apple cider vinegar, which I add a little bit to drinking water or seltzer. This is good on those really hot days where you're working in the heat and feeling depleted. The mint vinegar is so refreshing and provides you with some much needed minerals when you're sweating a lot.
I think you get the point! Take your favorite herb, and simply add a variable amount of honey or vinegar. Get creative! Mix and match herbs. Experiment! Change up the proportions of vinegar and honey to suit your personal taste.
MAKE YOUR OWN MEDICINE.
Lots of love from your s/realfood moderator, who actually does check out this sub from time to time. <3
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