How to Make an Herbal Honey for Food and Medicine

Introduction

As an herbalist, I like to find creative ways to add herbs to my life. One of my favorites is to make herbal honey. Not only are my remedies tasty, but the honey add extra health benefits.

Your best bet is to purchase raw honey. When honey is pasteurized, the good things in honey, such as the live enzymes, become damaged or killed off. Heat destroys certain vitamins and enzymes. Part of the benefit of consuming honey is that all of these good things remain intact.

Honey is very soothing on the throat and respiratory system, making it a logical choice when used as a sore throat remedy or as a cough syrup base. It is also an antibacterial and has a good amount of B vitamins. Using it in small amounts each day can boost the immune system and help your overall state of health. When mixed with herbs, the benefits of honey or amplified.

Here are some of my favorite herbs to use in herbal honeys:

* Fresh Ginger root
* Peppermint
* Cinnamon
* Garlic
* Cayenne Pepper
* Rose
* Thyme
* Oregano
* Chamomile
* Spearmint
* Sage

You can use my list to start, or you can experiment with your favorite herbs. Keep in mind that the more flavorful the herb is, the better it will taste when mixed with honey.

Also, remember that dried herbs are best. Ginger root and garlic cloves are the exception to this. If the herb has a lot of moisture, it will go bad quicker.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You'll Need

• Small mason jar, sterilized
• Raw honey--enough to fill the jar
• Herb of choice
• Chopstick

Steps

1

Step One

Choose an herb to use for your herbal honey. You can base it completely on flavor, or you can choose one that will help with a health problem. For example, if you have a sore throat, you can use sage. If you have a cold, you can choose ginger or cinnamon. Consult the link at the bottom of this article to help you chose an herb for medicinal purposes.

2

Step Two

Fill the mason jar halfway with the herb you choose. If you decide to use cinnamon, use cinnamon sticks instead of the powdered spice. You may need to break the sticks apart.

3

Step Three

Pour honey over the herb until the herb is covered and the honey rises to the top. To release any air bubbles that may form, poke them with a chopstick. Do this until they are all gone. The air bubbles may make it go bad faster.

4

Step Four

Cover the jar and store in the refrigerator. Let it stand for a few days, and use as soon as possible. It will last one to two weeks or more. Just keep watching it to make sure that no mold forms. If you use it up quickly you can fill the jar with more honey.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find raw honey at your health food store or natural grocer. Or, you can order it online.
• If you can't find raw honey, feel free to find any honey you can find.
• Use the honey in cooking, to sweeten teas, mixed into hot water and by itself. Be creative!
• Don't feed infants two-years-old or under honey because it contains a small amount of botulism and infants don't have the immunity to withstand it.