What is an Oxymel?

An oxymel is a sweet-and-tangy-tasting and incredibly easy remedy to create. It’s one of my favorites because I love sweet-and-sour combinations, and that’s exactly what an oxymel is. It can be a combination of lemon juice and sugar, for instance, or it could combine honey with apple cider vinegar. You could probably combine maple syrup with something sour, like lime juice, if you wanted.

What’s important is that you’ve infused some medicinal herbs into either the sweet or the sour, or both. I usually infuse honey with herbs (such as onion, garlic or motherwort) and infuse the vinegar with herbs (such as lemon balm, valerian, rose hips, etc.) for a doubly-infused combination. 

This is a remedy where you can let your creative genius run wild. You’re in for a treat with this one, because it is an unusually sensual remedy to make. By this I mean you can get enraptured with the tangy smell of the apple cider vinegar simmering on the stovetop, by the languid thickness of the honey while you stir it. Not to mention the peaking scents of the herbs themselves—try using bright mint that will make your sinuses clear right open, or bitter motherwort that sits on your tongue and causes you to salivate, or heady lavender that fills your brain with its own version of a thick fragrance. This is a remedy that invites us to experiment, to play with different herbs and to make lots of various combinations.

Delicious Herbal Oxymel Recipes

Above all, create something that is scrumptiously delicious that you will enjoy taking by the spoonful whenever you need it. The method of taking an oxymel is quite easy: sip a spoonful of it. Alternatively, you can add it to a small bit of seltzer or soda, or to a small bit of elderflower liqueur for something along the lines of an herbal “shrub.” You can also use it as a salad dressing or, if you’re feeling adventurous, drizzle it over vanilla ice cream for a sweet-and-sour kick.

Step 1: Choose your herbs. An oxymel is a great place to use herbs that are generally too strong or bitter to use elsewhere: garlic, onion, motherwort, yarrow, and wormwood work well in oxymels. Because the sweet-and-sour taste is so prominent, you can hide those strong herbal flavors that are usually considered unpleasant medicines. Oxymels are also a good remedy to take in the morning or during the day; because of the sugar, I don’t usually take them at night. For this reason, here’s a good place to use wake-up or energizing herbs such as eleuthero and schizandra.

Finally, I think oxymels are a lovely place to use heart-healing herbs—those needed for both the circulatory system and good cardiovascular function, as well as those needed for emotional support of the heart—grief, sadness, anxiety, loss. For instance, the following herbs would be a lovely combination in your oxymel for a heart-healing remedy:

Hawthorn leaf, flower and/or berry

rose petals (the more fragrant, the better)

lemon balm aerial parts

garlic bulb and/or scape

motherwort leaf

prickly ash bark

and/or tulsi herb.

Step 2: Decide whether you will infuse the sweet (honey, sugar, maple syrup) or the sour (vinegar, lemon juice), or if you will infuse both with herbs. If infusing the honey, follow the instructions above in Exercise 12 Infused Honey. Strain the herbs out and reserve the honey. If infusing the vinegar, chop your herbs and add them to a small saucepan. Pour in the vinegar and gently warm it on the stovetop. Do not allow it to boil, but let it warm up for about 15 minutes. Strain the herbs out and reserve the liquid.

Step 3: In a glass bowl or large glass measuring cup, begin to combine them. I like to start small, so perhaps a half-cup of honey mixed with a half-cup of vinegar. Taste this combination and see if you prefer it more sweet or more sour. Add accordingly, stirring and tasting as you go.

Step 4: When you’ve achieved the flavor you like, bottle the oxymel in a glass jar or bottle, label it, and store it. Because there’s no water, an oxymel can stay on the counter at room temperature, especially if you believe it will be used up within a week or two. But to guard against fermentation, I prefer to store it in the refrigerator. I’ve had oxymels ferment and explode, so refrigerating them seems wise. Use your refrigerated oxymel within a few months.

Excerpted/adapted from Llewellyn’s Little Book of Herbs by Holly Bellebuono