Herbal Vinegars, Oxymels & Spring Tonics — Milk & Honey Herbs

Oxymels are an extremely old herbal preparation. The name comes from the Latin word “oxymeli,” which means “acid and honey” and indeed an oxymel in herbalism today refers to a vinegar and honey mixture! Some folks like to simmer their herbs in the vinegar, but I prefer to steep mine, so that the probiotics and vitality of the living medicine aren’t lost. These days I make oxymels more often than vinegars, as I personally like the additional sweetness to ground-out the shrp sourness of vinegar. My favorite way to use them is in foods (salad dressings especially) and also in some water or sparkling water. Oxymels are increasingly being sold as “sipping vinegars” or “drinking vinegars,” which refers to a sweetened vinegar extract, however these are sometimes made with cane sugar, so watch out! And shrubs are gaining in popularity too. Generally shrubs are variations of oxymels with the addition of fruit, however I often make oxymels which contain fruit and just call them oxymels. This is folk medicine and none of these are regulated terms. Use the name for your medicine that makes the most sense for you!Energetics/Taste- An oxymel combines the warming nature of the honey with the cooling nature of vinegars, resulting in a more balanced preparation, energetically, then just vinegar or honey alone.Properties- I particularly love oxymels for respiratory conditions, since the honey brings the medicine a bit deeper and goes to the lungs. Hippocrates was said to have prescribed vinegar with a bit of honey for coughs and colds. The addition of the honey to the vinegar also seems to ground the more biting flavor/nature of pure vinegar extracts (Fire Cider being such a good example of this effect) and I think allows the medicine to go a bit deeper. It contains the actions of both vinegar (described above) with honey. Honey is of course medicine unto itself. It’s emollient, moistening, an expectorant, anti-septic, a mild laxative, nutritive, and a rejuvenative.  In Ayurveda, it is said to be an anupana (a vehicle) to bring herbs to the deepest tissue layer. Constituents- Oxymels have all the minerals and vitamins contained in vinegar (described above). Honey truly is a nutritive and contains an impressive array of vitamins and minerals. It contains Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Choline, Betaine, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Zinc. Copper, Manganese, Selenium, Glucose, Fructose, and enzymes. It is about 20% water.