A tea of fresh sage leaves helps relieve hot flushes
and duck. Ah, poor silly Jemima Puddle-duck. She wasn’t suspicious even when the gentleman with foxy whiskers asked for a little sage and a few onions.
Sage makes a good mouthwash for sore gums and a gargle for sore throats. A tea of fresh leaves helps relieve hot flushes, but should not be taken for more than a few weeks at a time, to prevent toxicity.
Bouquet Garni
Sprig of thyme, one bay leaf, 2 peppercorns and a sprig of parsley. Tie up in a 10cm square of muslin, tied with cotton.
Rosemary is another aromatic perennial, Rosmarinus officinalis, originating from the Mediterranean; its botanic name Rosmarinus means ‘dew of the sea’. In folklore it is a herb of fidelity, loyalty and remembrance. Sharing the antiseptic properties of sage, rosemary is traditionally a ‘head’ herb, used for stuffiness in the head leading to headaches, catarrh or poor memory, and indeed it does improve the flow of blood to the brain. It certainly aids concentration and can relieve headaches and migraine. In the digestive system, rosemary helps move food and wastes through the body, helping remove stagnation and sluggishness. It contains bitters which stimulate the liver and gall-bladder, helping the digestion of fats. Rosemary is a superb addition to any oily or fatty food, whether it be
isolated volatile oil is toxic, and not used internally. Thyme can be dried and stored with very little loss of flavour, unlike other herbs (such as parsley) which are best used fresh. Thyme is used by the pinch, not the spoonful. However, it makes a superb addition to a herb mix in all sorts of cooked dishes, and is central to the bouquet garni of European cookery.
Thyme goes well with parsley and is recommended mixed with that herb in fresh herb butter and in stuffing for chicken and turkey.
In medicine, thyme is a common addition to mixtures for upper respiratory tract infections, combining well with licorice. In the digestive system its antiseptic oils help re-establish normal bacterial population after antibiotic treatment.
So cherish your aromatic herbs, and use them not only in your cooking but also as teas (dried or fresh), especially in the winter to keep infections at bay.
Caroline Sheldrick MNIMH practises herbal medicine in Gloucestershire.
*Labiates with traditional use in herbal medicine
Thyme makes a superb addition to a herb mix in all sorts of cooked dishes and is central to the bouquet garni of European cookery
roasted vegetables or meat and enhances anything on the barbeque.
Thyme is the strongest of the three herbs in terms of medicine: the powerful antiseptic ingredients in the aromatic oil are more concentrated, so a little goes a long way. The whole plant in small doses is safe, but the
Acinos arvensis Basil thyme Ajuga reptans Bugle Ballota nigra Horehound Betonica officinalis Betony Calamintha ascendens Calamint Glechoma hederacea Ground ivy Lamium album White deadnettle Leonurus cardiaca Motherwort Lycopus europaeus Gipsywort Marrubium vulgare White horehound Melissa officinalis Lemon balm Mentha spicata Spearmint Nepeta cataria Cat mint Origanum vulgare Marjoram Prunella vulgaris Self-heal
Salvia horminoides Wild sage, Salvia pratensis Meadow Clary: both now rare. Scutellaria laterifolia Skullcap
Stachys sylvatica Wood woundwort, Stachys arvensis Field Woundwort Thymus serphyllum Wild thyme
Country Gardener 13
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