Hedgerow Remedies and Recipes

[darkazana 1,736]

Lots of threads with recipes in them but I thought I'd start another anyway. These are more to do with foraging and using natures own gifts, though some will be more basic recipes that can come from garden produce. Hope you will all share your own remedies with us.

And to kick off here is my recipe for Elderberry Flu Remedy (which I have just made today)

Pick a couple of kilos of elderberries (probably a plastic carrier bag full - the stalks take up most of the room) on a dry sunny day.

Wash them, drain them and strip the berries from the stalks, use a fork if you don't want purple fingers for a few days!

Put in a pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer until they are soft - about half an hour.

Strain through a sieve; the seeds are harmless but taste bitter.

For every pint of liquid add 1lb sugar, the juice of a lemon, (I also throw the rest of the lemon in after I have squeezed it), 10 cloves and a 1inch piece of peeled fresh ginger.

Return to the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Boil hard for 10 minutes then let the liquid cool and strain out the lemon, cloves and ginger.

Store in the freezer, in small plastic bottles, ice cube trays or freezer bags.

You can dilute a couple of the ice cubes in hot water for a hot toddy, or pour the syrup over ice cream.

Elderberries contain Sambucol (Where Sambuca comes from!) which is known to be an effective antidote to more strains of flu than Tamiflu.

Swigging this syrup everyday could help prevent full blown flu, and will soothe any symptoms that you already have.

And take it from me it is lovely (Though you may not think so when you smell the berries in their raw state!)

[jackson 301]

Darkazana (love your name), do you know if the Sea Buckthorn Berries that grow in abundance along the sand hills of the East Coast can be used to make the oil?

PS: Sea Buckthorn Oil, very expensive.

[Pixie 162]

Ok so it doesn't include foraging... Unless you can get your hands on these 3 ingrediants. But when winter rolls in I make the following and store in jars and keep in the fridge.

Slice lemons into circular pieces, chop ginger to however you want and pack it all in the jar. Then fill with honey but it's best to do it in stages to let it fill the gaps and settle to the bottom then continue to fill the jar with the remaining honey. Pop it in the fridge for at least a day and it'll set into a loose sort of jelly consistency, but if it's a little runny it still works. When you feel a cold coming on, take a desired amount, slap it in a mug and fill with boiled water! I add a little sugar to taste too.

[darkazana 1,736]

Sounds good to me. I usually make a lemon tea with honey and the slice of lemon, and I love gingery stuff so I'll try it out.

#2 Jackson, thanks Extracting oils from plants can be tricky, the most cost effective way is by distillation, but high temperatures can destroy the oil, which would be counter productive.

However if you want a go the simplest way of doing it is to get a deep pan (stock pot?) put a brick in the bottom. Put the berries around the brick and add water to halfway up the brick, not completely covering the berries. Place a small bowl on the brick and then a metal basin which fits tightly on top of the pan - the lid might do if its concave. Bring the pan slowly to the boil and then turn down to simmer and add ice to the upside down lid so that the steam condenses and drips into the bowl in the pan. Technically you need loads of ice for this, but you can also use ice packs which you can refreeze, and only need one at a time.

Eventually you should have a bowl of distilled water with the oil floating on top. It's tricky though, which is probably why it is so expensive, in fact most essential oils are in tiny bottles and quite costly.

(I had a go at making rose water in the summer, using the same method but didn't get very much oil out of it . But really enjoyed making it and the actual water is very good for the skin.)

If you try this let me know how it goes.

[StephenFord 866]

Re #1 - don't you find that simmering elderberries makes a bit of a pong? We were given some home-made elderberry jelly once when we were in the Hebrides and loved it. There were loads of elderberries in the hedgerows along our road in Lincolnshire, so I decided to have a go. Collected a substantial quantity and stripped them from the stalks with a fork as you suggest, but then the bringing to the boil and simmering - pooh! The smell just seemed to impregnate the house - absolutely ghastly - at which point my good lady (and mum, who happened to be visiting) suggested that we quit before we were reduced to camping on the back lawn to escape from it !

[darkazana 1,736]

adding the lemon, cloves and ginger killed the smell, I certainly noticed it while stripping the berries from the stalks, but I have to say the end product is worth it. (my husband doesn't like the smell when I make braised red cabbage, that certainly permeates through the house, but he wolfs the results down!!!!)

Making Sloe and Apple Jelly today.

[jackson 301]

Hi there Darkazana, thank you so much for the information @ #4; it seems like you say 'tricky' but nevertheless very kind of you to get back...............

PS: Had a serious go at making natural dyes out of hedgerow plants some years back: meadowsweet, mallow, sage, etc. and was delighted with the results.

PPS: Have you ever made anything with quinces? (quince jam)

[darkazana 1,736]

Morning Jackson,

No not tried quinces yet, only because I haven't seen any. I'm hoping to get a Medlar tree sometime, I fancy making something from them. Another jelly I like making is Rowan. The trees are very common and the jelly is like a sharper redcurrant and can be substituted for it. Berries are best harvested in mid to Late October.

Not tried dyeing as such, apart from school stuff where we used onion skins, but it did cross my mind you would get a really good purple from elderberries!!!

[jackson 301]

Hi Darkazana, I have two quince bushes; the only thing I've ever done with the fruit is take photographs as the fruit matured - I'd read about an artist who'd put together an exhibition on quinces!

Made some mead a few years back; beautiful and deadly at the same time: a few sips and it just about floored me!

PS: Would love the time to experiment with elderberries......................... Now there's a use for the demijohns in my garage...........

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Thanks for the warning Jackson. I've got some home made mead maturing not tried yet. I'd better give it a try.

[Pixie 162]

Or when your bunged up with cold or flu... You could try mine and my step dads remedy! Not for the faint hearted.

2x lemon lemsips.

+ 1 lemon locket (throat sweet)

It'll 'blow ya head off' but it soon clears the sinuses and helps you feel better!

[darkazana 1,736]

Since my successful foraging trips last year during which I found some lovely sloe bushes I decided to look at herbalism in more depth, as I love to grow my own herbs and plants. I found an online course which I have just finished and passed. I was quite surprised at how most plants can be used for therapeutic purposes, particularly those which nowadays are regarded as weeds. Whilst I wouldn't consider myself as a qualified herbalist after such a short course (though apparently now I have a Certificate in Herbal Medicine I can now practise, which is a bit worrying), I am looking forward to trying out some of the remedies that I have learned about when the plants are ready for harvesting. I will post any successful results, with instructions for anyone who is interested.

[Bilboro-lad 294]

Are they 'sloe' growing?

[darkazana 1,736]

Apple and Mint Jelly

2lb sharp cooking apples, crab apples or a mixture of both (unpeeled)

Water

Granulated Sugar (1lb to each pint of juice)

Chopped Mint (2tablespoons to each pint of juice)

Wash the apples and if large cut into pieces but do not peel or core.

Place in pan and just cover with water.

Bring slowly to the boil and simmer until they form a pulp.

Put through a jelly bag, or line a sieve with a teatowel or some muslin and leave dripping into a clean bowl overnight. Do not squeeze the juice out as this will make the jelly cloudy.

Measure the juice into a large pan and to each pint allow 1lb sugar.

Heat the juice and when boiling stir in the sugar, continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Boil rapidly, without stirring, until setting point has been reached (105C/220F, or when a small amount wrinkles when you drop it onto a cold saucer and after a few minutes you push it gently with your finger)

Remove pan from the heat and remove any scum from the surface using a slotted spoon.

Allow to stand for a few minutes until it starts to thicken slightly then stir in the chopped mint.

Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal. (I sterilise my jars by putting them on a tray and placing in the oven while I am in the last stages of making the jelly)

This is a basic method for making jelly and can be applied to most flavours.

I also find mint goes well with gooseberries to make a lovely jelly.

A good book with lots of great recipes is The Complete Book Of Preserves & Pickles by Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew

[darkazana 1,736]

Elderflowers gathered and Elderflower Champagne and Cordial now brewing in the kitchen.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I've some elderberry "trees" growing wild on my property, elderberries have many medicinal properties.

[tomlinson 879]

And we all know what dandelions can do to a person!

[darkazana 1,736]

#16 Ayupmeducks, Particularly good for fighting colds and flu as they are so high in vitamin C, see the top recipe.

Did you know Sambuca is made out of elderberries?

Young dandelion leaves can be added to salad and a decoction can be made out of dried dandelion root. As well as a diuretic to reduce congestion, they can also be used to treat acne.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I never get colds and flu darkanza, I keep topped up with vitamin D. Unfortunately, the only place to get plenty of natural D is in the sun, so come the winter months I take plenty of D suppliments.

There was a time I'd get at least one cold a year, but since taking extra D, it's a thing of the past... Research vitamin D deficiency.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Plantain is a relative of Spinach and is edible raw and cooked.

[darkazana 1,736]

Vitamin D can also be fatal if you overdose on it, it causes build up of calcium in the blood, liver and kidney problems.

I take my elderberry flu remedy at the first signs of a cold (ie a sneeze) and it never goes any further, in the summer we drink the cordial on a regular basis which works just as well. I have never had flu in my life. I also make sure I have a well balanced diet which includes all the necessary vitamins and minerals. I never take supplements as they often contain more than just what you think is in there. Other good sources of vitamin D are fatty fish, salmon, tuna, sardines etc which also contain the essential omega 3 oils.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I'm not a big fish eater, very few types of fish I like, sardines are yucky, can't get tuna past my nose, and I have hardly any sense of smell...

I'll stay with my D, this time of year I get more than my daily dose outside working in the sun.

According to a survey carried out in the US, it was found a vast majority of people tested, were deficient in D, even those who stated they took suppliments.

[darkazana 1,736]

The main problem nowadays with taking supplements is that some people take them rather than eat a well balanced diet, particularly those working in high pressure jobs who don't make time to eat sensibly. Eventually it will catch up with them, they are storing up all sorts of trouble for themselves in later life. I am not criticising you in any way Ayupmeducks, I understand your reasons, just making a general observation.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

After many years of research and inquiry regarding healing of skin wounds, skin ulcers and other nasty stuff, there is something that is shown to be the best of anything. Its honey. Plain old honey.

[darkazana 1,736]

Honey is a natural antiseptic, which is why it is used in many ways for healing.

Coincidentally plaintain, which Ayupmeducks mentioned earlier, is another plant with healing properties and which is readily available. The leaves can be applied to a bleed and will stop it, and used as a poultice will give relief to bites, stings and other skin irritations.