The Herb Cupboard:
Taking an Inventory
By Doreen Shababy
Every so often you have to clean your cupboards, and the herb cupboard is no exception. As I begin writing this, I realize that I’m really talking about two different cupboards. Originally, I thought of what, here at home, I call the medicine hutch. Several years ago my husband, the “wood wizard,” built a beautiful pine and cedar hutch that I use for storing our herbal concoctions, all the ingredients, tinctures, salves, dark amber bottles, small dropper bottles, jars of green ointment, golden calendula oil, and so on. The other herb cupboard, well, I guess a lot of people would call that the spice rack, but again, I tend to have a spice rack, a spice shelf, a rolling spice cart, what have you … let’s just say, I’m a bit of a fanatic! The herb cupboard we will discuss here is the first kind: the cupboard of lotions and potions.
Best Used by …
I try to be diligent about rotating my “inventory,” which is a very important concept, but c’est la vie, sometimes things do get overlooked or go stale. I keep the bottles labeled and dated, and when I see something is getting near the end of fresh, I try to use it up in a good way. If it’s a bunch of dried mint or thyme, for example, I might use them as bath herbs. Aromatic seeds and spices are easy to use up as a real simmering potpourri; you can also sprinkle a tiny bit onto your woodstove to send the fumes wafting. I’ve even been known to sprinkle the seeds along the borders of the garden for an edible weed effect—go figure!
If you come across homemade salve that’s over a year old, it’s time to start giving it away. Tinctures, which will keep practically forever, can also run into overstock if you never use them. Share them with others—that’s what they’re for. You can harvest and make more this coming summer. I have discovered over the years that when you share the herbal remedies you make (or anything else from your loving hands), you are gifted in return in ways you might never imagine.
And yes, sometimes old, dried herbs do go by way of the compost heap. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. It’s a learning experience.
Decisions, Decisions
In any event, how do you know what kind of homemade herbal products you need? And how much?
First, take a look at your family or housemates. For instance, if you have school-aged children—the little petri dishes that they are—you will first and foremost want kid-safe remedies for colds and flu. This could include elderberry syrup for sore throats; dried lemon balm for easing aches and pains, and helping break a fever (use as tea or in the bath); and fragrant and penetrating cottonwood salve as a chest rub and for chapped noses. You will also want gentle calendula ointment for any type of ouchie. Most households won’t have any problem using homemade insect repellents, especially during picnic season.
If you do a lot of physical work for a living, including gardening, you might want cottonwood salve to soothe achy muscles, lots of dried spearmint for refreshing, hydrating teas, and white willow bark tincture for easing inflammation.
What’s in Your Medicine Hutch?
I used to want to make tinctures of all the herbs I could pick, and then I realized I only need to pick what I actually use. In my own herb cupboard, I mostly keep remedies made from what I have picked in the wild or grown in my garden, such as Grandma’s Magic Healing Salve (a general, all-purpose herbal green salve); cottonwood bud oil and tincture; St. John’s wort tincture and oil; calendula petals for oil or salve; dandelion tincture (whole plant); and lomatium root tincture for treating infections and lung congestion. I purchase herbs such as slippery elm bark for soothing the intestines. Then there are the base ingredients such as olive oil, beeswax, and pure-grain alcohol for making the remedies. I keep those on hand as well.
Do I expect everyone to keep an actual apothecary in their kitchen like me? Certainly not.
I once read a criticism about my book noting all the equipment and supplies needed, but what did you expect, really? Most items called for are common, and I can tell you, it keeps things interesting on the kitchen table, looking at lotions and potions brewing away like in some primitive chemistry lab. And consider this, if you keep over-the-counter drugstore “remedies,” why not keep ones you know won’t have negative side-effects when used accordingly, especially for children? When you know for certain what is going into your remedies, you can dispense them with confidence and a feeling of satisfaction at having a hand in their creation.
Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan
If you are new to making herbal home remedies, I recommend not making too big a batch of anything. Early on in my herbal creation enthusiasm, I would make a gallon of salve at a time. Have you ever tried to strain a gallon of hot, slippery oil filled with wilted leaves and flowers? Saying you have to be very careful is a bit of an understatement. Unless you are selling your herbal remedies, a quart at a time is plenty for most households. If you want to make extra to make as gifts (as in the case of homemade herbal salve), I suggest making it in two batches, for safety’s sake as well as convenience. The same goes for tinctures; a fifth at a time or less will generally last for years, depending on what it is. I have yarrow tincture that is over ten years old. So you see, you might not use what you make if you make too much.
I can see the medicine hutch right here from where I’m typing, and I see a purchased bottle of Lebanese orange flower water in there, a bottle of glycerin, herbal chest rub that my friend Jackie made (smells great), three or four paper bags with tincture jars steeping (to keep them from the sunlight), a big glass jar full of bay leaves (I don’t care if they’re in the light, they’re also out for decoration), cottonwood bud oil, a bag of empty gelatin capsules, and a couple stacks of books and magazines (there’s no place in my house where you can’t see books). These are just what I can see without opening the drawer or doors! Also, these are the things I use in my household for myself, my husband, and for my friends and family who need them. What kind of remedies do you think your household would use? If you identify your actual needs then you can figure out what herbs you might want to use to make your creations.
Storing Your Stuff
If you think of the herb cupboard as a combined and expanded first aid kit and medicine cabinet, you are getting the idea. I also keep Ace bandages, rolls of clean cotton for wrapping, scissors, a sterile eye cup, a hot water bottle, and so on in the drawer of the hutch—things that might ordinarily be in a bathroom, but we have limited space in that room, so the hutch is where it’s at. If storage is an issue in your home too, look for a new or used cabinet-type storage unit you can anchor up on the wall for handy dispensing. The trick is to narrow down what you think you’ll really need for herbal first aid, the supplies you’ll need to make them, and then find a nice cool, dry, and dark place to store your herbal concoctions.
To tell the truth, you really can’t have too much Grandma’s Magic Healing Salve.
Calendula Lip Balm
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) petals are often used for delicate skin and in formulas for babies and children. So clean out your cupboard and baby your lips at the same time!
1 cup sweet almond oil
1 cup dried calendula petals (not the whole flower head), rose petals, or both
1 ounce cocoa butter (purchase at pharmacy, specialty baking, or natural food stores)
1 ounce beeswax, grated or beads (approximately)
Steep the oil and petals over very low heat for two to three hours, until the oil is golden from the petals. Do not overheat! Add the cocoa butter, stir until melted. Carefully strain this warm oil over a heatproof bowl, removing the petals. Pour the strained oil back into the pan, add the beeswax, and stir until melted. To test for hardness, take a teaspoon of the blend, place it on a small plate, and refrigerate for a few minutes to see how it sets up, like for testing jelly. Adjust the amount of wax to lip balm hardness, then carefully ladle into small containers, appropriate for dipping your pinky finger. Let cool before covering. Makes about 10 ounces.
Optional: For additional flavor add 1⁄2 teaspoon of vanilla or strawberry flavoring (not extract) before you add the wax. Mmmm!
Elderberry Syrup
This is a simple but effective remedy styled after a basic herbal syrup. You can use honey (preferred) or cane sugar in the preparation. Use elderberry syrup to ease coughs from a cold or flu. Elderberry has been shown to ease inflammation and increase perspiration, helping break a fever. Do not eat fresh elderberries in any quantity as they are purgative until cooked or dried!
In a small pan place 1 quart water with 2 ounces dried (or 4 ounces fresh) elderberries, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, and allow to simmer uncovered until reduced by half (that is 1 pint or 2 cups), about twenty minutes. Strain, and then add 1⁄2 cup honey, stirring until blended. If using cane sugar, use 1 cup sugar, and be sure it is fully dissolved by briefly reheating the brew. Carefully pour the hot syrup into sterilized bottles, label, and date. Refrigerate the elderberry syrup for up to three months. Makes about 2 1⁄2 cups.
Sources
Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 1996.
Duke, James A., PhD. The Green Pharmacy. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1998.
Shababy, Doreen. The Wild & Weedy Apothecary. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2010.
Doreen Shababy is the author of The Wild & Weedy Apothecary, and co-owner of her business by the same name. She has been using, growing, and teaching others about herbs for decades, and she is also involved with energy work. Please visit her blog at www.thewildnweedykitchen.blogspot.com.