Of Weeds and Weans

Festive flavours

Joseph Nolan

As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness slips into bare branches and rain, we console ourselves with feasting. Especially for children, sweets and candies loom large, and we tend to take the flavours of the festive season— Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, C. verum, C. cassia), Cardamom (Elletaria cardomomum), Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) —rather for granted. But the flavours of Festivus have medicinal uses too, and help us to counteract overindulgence, as well as the salted, smoked, dried, pickled, and stale, winter fare of former times.

My first encounter with Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens, Oil of Wintergreen) was a box of funny coloured TicTacs on my aunt’s dashboard. I was suspicious of the little green candies, having always disliked mint flavoured things, but found that I really liked these odd tasting ‘mints’. The cool, sweet, mint-like taste is due largely to methyl salicylate, an excellent anti-inflammatory chemical cousin of aspirin. Generally used topically in medicine, Wintergreen is great for relieving the pain of bumps and bruises, pulled muscles, sprains, and strains. You can safely mix its essential oil into homemade Arnica montana (Arnica) or Bellis perennis (Bruisewort, Daisy) balm at your standard 2%, to increase the analgesic properties. Methyl salicylate can be toxic when ingested at too high a dose, so Oil of Wintergreen should not be used as a flavouring at home. Commercial food production keeps the total Wintergreen content below 0.04%, which would be virtually impossible to do in your kitchen.

Why exactly Mint became so much more popular than Wintergreen, I will never understand, but the fact remains that redstriped Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) candy canes rule the season. For children, Mint tea can be useful for the bloating and mild nausea that comes after eating too much sugar. It refreshes the palate and brightens the mood, as well— invaluable on the come down from a party or other exciting event. Mix with a little Matricaria recutita (Chamomile) to relax a griping belly and an over-excited, tired child. The essential oil invigorates and sharpens the mind, which can also be helpful to dispel holiday torpor if there is something that needs to be accomplished, like tidying up or getting ready for guests. Mints, the candy or gum kind, with xylitol rather than sugar, can also be helpful for morning sickness in pregnancy. The use of xylitol by pregnant mothers has been found to reduce incidence of dental caries in their children by up to 70% (Isokangas, et al. 2000). The benefits are believed to derive from xylitol’s ability to prevent transmission from mother to child of Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium closely associated with dental caries and gum disease (ibid.).

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is ubiquitous at this time of the year— gingerbread, pumpkin pie, Christmas pudding, Chanukah rugelach —and quite rightly. It improves digestive fire, relieves wind and bloating, balances gut flora, modulates blood sugar levels, and tastes lovely. There are two kinds: Ceylon Cinnamon (C. verum), which comes in quills of thin, papery bark and has a mild flavour; and Cassia or Saigon Cinnamon (C. cassia), which comes in quills of thick bark and has a hot, assertive flavour. The former is more common in the UK and Europe, the latter more common in the US. However, they have similar medicinal qualities, and can be used both culinarily and medicinally interchangeably. Both forms are also quite warming, so for children that have been playing outside and gotten chilled, a hot cup of Cinnamon tea is perfect. I used to love the fiery little cinnamon candies called Red Hots that would appear on baked goods at this time of the year, and still prefer Cassia as my cinnamon. Regardless, Cinnamon is invaluable for wind and bloating, whether chronic or occasional, and is very helpful after a large meal when these problems are apt to strike. The essential oil diffuses very nicely, too, and helps to set a cosy festive mood.

While Rose (Rosa damescena) is a common flavouring in festive Diwali treats, for British Christmas it is generally relegated to a box of chocolate Rose creams, which is regrettable because family get-togethers can be volatile affairs, and, when gifts are involved, children are inclined to over-excitement, irritability, and to being over-protective of their space and possessions. Add in too much sugar, late nights, decreased outdoor time, and crowded houses and, well, it can get fraught. Rose soothes the tension and tends to make people of all ages feel bright, relaxed, and welldisposed towards each other. Use it in tea blends, room sprays, and as rosewater in cool beverages.

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is widely used at this time of the year in Christmas baked goods and Diwali sweets. Certainly, it is expensive, and that helps up the luxury factor. The lovely red threads and beautiful golden colour it imparts also help. But beyond its visual appeal, Saffron soothes coughs, brightens the mood, and aids relaxation. In clinic, I also use it for regulating and enhancing brain function in ADHD; controlling OCD, seizures, and anxiety in patients with autism; and ameliorating degenerative neurological conditions in the elderly. While it might be a bit much to use Saffron medicinally at home, keeping it in mind for bringing a happy and relaxed mood might be handy.

Cardamom (Elletaria cardomomum) is another of my favourite herbs for wind, bloating and overloaded or generally weak digestion. For children, it can be used with or instead of Cinnamon for chills and eating too many sweets, and combined with Rose for the irritability and distress of over-excitement. Cardamom finds its way into a great many Diwali treats, perhaps most famously Gulab Jamun— fried milk dumplings in a divine Rose, Cardamom, and Saffron syrup. The best I ever had was from a little shop in a small town in Nepal, where they were freshly made, and I swear the street spun around when you ate them. Medicinally, combining Cardamom and Rose makes for an unusually delicious tea for over-excitement and an irritable belly. Rose helps control mild stress diarrhoea, while Cardamom reduces cramping and wind, and both herbs calm a gut upset by too much unaccustomed food.

The Orange (Citrus aurantium) is a winter fruit, and its aromatic peel furnishes an extremely useful medicine. Apart from the wonderful smell and flavour, the essential oil in the peel relieves wind and bloating, stimulates appetite, and encourages enzyme production all along the digestive tract. Most people also find the aroma comforting, and it certainly helps to brighten and lift the mood and to relax the mind. I use Orange peel a great deal in medicines for patients who suffer from IBS, wind, bloating, and generally weak digestion. Children and adults alike enjoy the flavour, and the pieces of bright orange peel look pretty in a tea, all of which encourage compliance. The other thing about Orange peel is that it is so widely available, and rather thrifty to use. You can easily dry it yourself at home. Buy organic fruit— juice Oranges, Tangerines, Satsumas, Clementines, etc. — enjoy them, and save the peels. Set them to dry near the heater or on a warm windowsill and put away once crisp. To use them, break into small pieces or crumble. You can use a zester if you wish, but the white pith adds a medicinally useful (and not unpleasant) bitterness, as well as a high antioxidant content, to a tea. You can, alternatively, tincture it by sticking the fresh peels into a jar of alcohol. I suggest brandy for this but use what you fancy. Just make sure to use organic fruit, because conventional citrus is waxed and doused in pesticides such as Imazalil and Thiabendazole to make it last longer, and you don’t want any of these things in your medicine.

Calm-It-All-Down Festive Tea

Most of the ailments that strike at this time of year are related to over-excitement, overindulgence, and change of routine. This is true for adults as much as for children, and everyone can use a quiet cup of Calm-It-AllDown in the midst of things. Give bags of tea as gifts, or just have some on hand for when it all gets too much.

Ingredients

Suitable for use up to 20% by weight:

Rose petals

Green Cardamon pods or seeds

Crushed Ceylon Cinnamon sticks

Chamomile flowers

Orange peel

Rooibos, Redbush (Aspalathus linearis)— for its caffeine-free, tart-sweet, vanilla-like flavour, and high antioxidant content

Mint leaf

Cacao nibs (Theobroma cacao)— for their chocolate-malt flavour, antioxidant hit, and Rose-like sweetening effect on the mood.

Suitable for use up to 10% by weight:

Cassia chips

Liquorice pieces (Glycyrrhiza glabra)— for their sweet flavour and calming effect on the stress response

Coconut chips (Cocos nucifera)— for their lovely flavour, calming and brightening effect on the mood, and for looking pretty in the tea

Suitable for use up to 5% by weight:

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum)— for its warming spicy flavour, and for the relief of wind and bloating

Method

Using a reliable kitchen scale and large bowl, combine your chosen ingredients to 100%. For best results, use herbs from the 20% list at 10-20% of the final tea, and the remaining herbs at their stated percentages. Experience has shown that adding the lighter ingredients first makes the tea easier to blend. When fully mixed, bag up into decorative pouches, or keep away from light in a tin or clip-top jar until required. Dried herbs normally last about a year but use your nose and eyes. If the colour and smell are gone, so is the virtue. If, after three years, the smell is still strong and the colours vibrant, use with abandon. Happy herbing.

References

Isokangas, P.; Söderling, E.; Pienihäkkinen, K. & Alanen, P. (2000) ‘Occurrence of dental decay in children after maternal consumption of xylitol chewing gum, a follow-up from 0 to 5 years of age’, in Journal of Dental Research, 79(11):1885-9