Making some Oxymel, Old School Infusions

in The Herbal Hive2 years ago

You Rang?

Time to break out the chemistry set and see what kinda trouble I can get into. Can you make Honey and Apple cider Vinegar explode?

Lets Find Out!

Well well well, I appear to have been summoned and here I am. Tonight Imma Flex My Full IQ of Negative 15.

The Humble Oxymel or Oxymellis Simplicis. Now, where to start?

What can you do with a Medicine that's over 2000 years old?


The Idea not what I made, I honestly don't have time travel capabilities.

Even Hippocrates prescribed to the Methodology and medicinal properties of this mix.

My first personal encounter with this idea was while doing Research 6 years ago into natural treatments for Breast cancer. I had My reasons.

Using a mixture of classical and eastern medicine we (Me and @iaura) made a Hybrid mixture.

So Today with much more knowledge on the topic in tow I'm going to revisit the medicinal side, and then just for fun I'm Going to knock up a tasty condiment.

For our health Tonic Oxymel we are going to use a classic Reduction technique that appears to be one of the oldest methods.

Followed by a long steeping process to extract our desired Mixture.


First off your going to want to sterilise your jar of choice. I just rinse it with boiling water out of the kettle.

I like the classic flip top type of jar for ease of use.

Then bang the following into a Saucepan and get ready to stink out the house. If you don't hear What the fuck is that smell being shouted from the next room you done this step wrong.

  • 1 Part Apple Cider Vinegar (400ml)
  • 1 Part Water (400ml)
  • 1 Part Natural Honey (You guessed it, 400ml)

This is enough to make 900ml of finished product. The good shit.

Simmer that on the stove top until its reduced by 1/4 of its volume, Or approx. 900ml. Scoop any Muck off as it simmers.

What you I forgot the pictures?

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Now While you got all that goodness evaporating into thin air prepare your steeping ingredients.

I'm using-
Fresh Ginger
Fresh Turmeric
Fresh Green Peppercorns
Lemongrass
Cracked Black pepper
Chilli Pepper
Coriander Root

Lets get down to my reasoning here on these choices.

Fresh Turmeric is full of curcuminoids which have been studied and proven to be a strong antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-fungal properties and Ginger boasts an equal set of beneficial effects with added support to cardiovascular health.

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The black pepper corn contains Piperine which is a good all round Aid for Headaches, Nausea, and also has mild anti-inflammatory properties. The Piperine is shown in many studies to be a potent enhancer in Combination with both the Ginger and Turmeric, With some studies even showing it can drastically reduce the effects of some cancers and limit the side effects of cancer treatments.

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The rest has been added to boost the immune system using traditional medical logic. By extracting the largest array of antioxidants and beneficial compounds, and concentrating a group of non combative herbs, it should provide the best level of effective use. As a curative or preventative.

That's my logic anyway.

The heating and reduction process is to remove Impurities in the Honey and allow a thorough extraction of every last bit of goodness in the Plants.

In 3-4 weeks Time It will be heated in its entirety again and strained through cheese cloth. Afterwards it will be used to keep the immune system boosted and it even makes an amazing addition to certain cocktails. A Tablespoon a Day MIGHT keep the doctor away.

Does it work? I cant honestly say, Cause as previously stated- Not a Doctor.

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Most of the ingredients have been used medicinally for as far back as we have recorded medicine. In India, China, and the west each of these ingredients have been shown to compliment each other in a number of studies.

Fuck You Rubido, does it Work!

Well, Only time will tell.

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So That sums up My take on the traditional Oxymel, Now lets make some sauce.

RUBIDOS BURNING BUSH


And My science teacher said Id Never be good at anything other than cooking Meth.

Now For some Fun, I like to make my own hot sauce. Apple Cider Based Oxymel solutions are great carriers for Capsicum and The heat extracted from Chilli Peppers.

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I'm using a method that originates with the Aztecs and was Modernised with Tabasco. It has roots In Africa, and branches into the everyday fibre of many cultures.

So here we go, Get Ready for My Burning Bush Hot Sauce.

  • 2 Parts Vinegar (350ml)
  • 1 Part Honey(125ml)
  • A few tablespoons of water

Once again bang it in a saucepan.

Heat the mixture to a simmer and remove any muck that floats on top.

Now you can leave this to simmer while you Prepare your Chilli Peppers and Ingredients.

IMG_20211128_135154.jpg

I've used Birds Eye Chilli, Scotch Bonnet, Piment d'Espelette, Fresh Green peppercorns, Cracked Black Peppercorns, Yellow Mustard seeds, fresh coriander leaf, Garlic and Ginger I also added a Tablespoon of smoked Paprika to the blend at the end.

IMG_20211128_134916.jpg

I got a fair few Pestle and mortars for different task. I tend to stick to the stone for powders and the Japanese ceramic for pastes.

Equally you can use a food processor, but it doesn't extract as much flavour.

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All Pureed in there, ready to get toasty in the pan.

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Add this to the simmering Vinegar and Honey. Turn of the heat and Leave it to infuse for 20 Minutes with the heat turned off.

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Once you've prepped everything pour it into your sterilised jar and leave it to blend for a Month or so in a cool dark place. Shake it around every few days.

Then strain, bottle and enjoy.

Trust me you wont regret it.

You want Scoville scale and Flavour this works in every capacity.

What do you mean whys it called burning bush? Well if you happen to be taking a few dabs on your finger for a taste test... Do not go for a Pee without washing your hands.

Nuff Said

Oh and Just for the sake of potential curiosity, Why do I add water? Well boiling neat vinegar causes an increase in Acetic acid concentration, Acetic acid has a higher boiling point than water vapor, hence water vapor boils off leaving the acid content largely unchanged until an equillibriam is reached.

So the resulting mixture with neat Cider Vinegar could pass the thresholds of being beneficial and actually become too harsh on the stomach. Causing more problems than assistance.


YAY science.

So thanks for joining me on this little experiment. I hope you had as much fun reading as I did makin this.

So From me to you, Good health, may you prosper, and dont play with anything you don't fully understand. Same as in the crypto world, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!

Peace out!

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Rubido is a genius

Rubido is a genius

Rubido is a genius

Rubido is a genius

🤣🤣🤣 paybacks a pain innit thanks man it's much appreciated

This is no payback

This is me really into your medical work,as a matter of fact. I would be getting to it too

cheers man its great fun knocking up herbal remedies!

😂I agree and love the way you expressed it.

Thank you

😂😂😂

Really great post! I'm reminded of Fire Cider, similar, with slightly different ingredients. Fresh green peppercorns, you are so lucky. I've never been able to get them fresh.

Nothing beats using a mortar and pestle, does it? I find that when done by hand that way, the taste is noticeably different.

Wickedly good looking hot sauce too! Hand made is the best. YUM. You know your stuff!

I do my best, The Mortar and Pestle are never far from hand in the kitchen. The Hot sauce is amazing, has tons of heat and flavor. So its not like eating a raw chilli pepper.

Green peppercorns are hard to come by here but there are a few speciality shops that carry them locally so its always handy.

You certainly do very well. I can't argue on a mortar and pestle. I have three.

Hot sauce is a favourite of mine and you're right, not like eating raw chilli pepper (I like that too, but stop before ghost peppers). I find you can create so many different kinds of hot sauce.

I wish longingly for those green peppercorns, just to experience once.

Sparkling wit, astounding humor (wish I could spell it British and still be accepted, but...). The weirdest part is that I’m still considering trying it out. That’s insane. Right?

Thank you its much appreciated!

OH. Wowsers. Is that fresh pepper in there? I should scour the Melbourne markets next time I'm up there - yum, yum and yum. I notice you heated it - I've never done that with an oxymel as I figure the fresh raw honey is good for you (plus I've never read a recipe that called to heat the honey). NOt that the extraction wouldn't work and it wouldn't take the sting out of the vinegar.... This recipe is perfect, a version of a fire cider that would help fight all kinds of things! I always think EVERYONE should make a version of this with what they have to hand. And that hot sauce - man, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hot sauce - this one looks amazing. Love your pestle and mortars - they are such beautiful objects of art, let alone practical too. Much better than the old whizzy whizzy. Thanks so much for joining in and answering the call!!! Can't wait to see what you come up with for the next challenge!!! Love, @riverflows

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I always do my best to deliver something different😁

The heating process is an odd one, I do it 50% of the time but often just use raw honey as I have a buddy who keeps bees. Whenever I have to buy jarred though I heat it when using it for extractions. Its amazing the shit that can float off!

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I could use a burning bush in my pantry. Thank you for the info!

!PIZZA

Thank you for the Pizza! 😁 The burning Bush is great tho, well worth a try.

PIZZA! PIZZA!

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Yay! 🤗
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I gotta say I'm not usually drawn to foodie type content but I very much enjoy reading yours. You could be pulling all the various educational tidbits and factoids out of your ass for all I know, but it wouldn't matter. Fun stuff, !PIZZA :)

My information spews from many orafices, my ass only accounts for a small percentage, not to mention I got into cooking and herbal medicine trying to make E 🤣

Ah, what a noble entry to the culinary world! My hat is off to you sir 😆

When Rubido takes out the mortar, you know he means business! Really great job my brother, I loved it so much, well written, I loved the ingredients you used, ginger and turmeric are the real deal!

cheers buddy its appreciated!

Hilarious! Although that water tip is invaluable. And that paste! Yum it could be part of such a delicious curry. Now I understand why River so often mentions you and @edprivat in the same sentence @rubido

Thanks alot! Strangely enough its almost identical to the ingredients in my Home made Thai curry paste only changes I make are adding slow roasted green peppers and Pickled Lime Rinds.

Ooooo! Double yum. I hope you don't mind if I copy your recipe. Although we don't easily get lime here in SA we have a beautiful old lemon tree in the orchard

not a problem at all :D Lemon works just as well. I only use lime peel because a morrocan buddy of mine pickles his own and always shares.

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