✨❄️ Making a Wintertime Oxymel with Medieval Flavors 🏰✨Oxymels have been used in medicine since Antiquity, and are simply a blend of vinegar and honey, often infused with herbs and spices. Today, we are making a wintertime tonic with Medieval flavors: elderberry for immune-support; cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove for their warming action; and wild rose for heart-lifting. Most modern-day oxymels are made with equal parts vinegar and honey, but you can always increase the proportion in favor of honey (as it’s believed they did in the old days, and as I tend to do… just a bit!). Here’s the recipe for the wintery elixir I’ve made here: ❄️Ingredients 2 cups of apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup of dried elderberries 2 cinnamon sticks A big pinch of whole cloves 1 whole nutmeg broken into a few pieces A handful of dried roses 1 cup of honey (or more) ✨Method Pour the apple cider vinegar into a pot and add the elderberries, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Bring to just under a boil, and then allow to simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half. Strain the berries spices out of the vinegar, making sure to press on the berries to extract all the juices. Cast a handful of roses into the vinegar, and allow it to cool to room temperature. Strain out the roses. Mix the vinegar and honey until fully combined, and your oxymel is complete.
#oxymel #plantmedicine #folkmedicine #medicinalherbs #apothecary #medieval #middleenglish #history #witchtok