diy: anti-inflammatory oxymel
So many of you have grown to quite love and depend on my anti-inflammatory oxymel recipe, which is truly such an honor! Though I’ve decided to discontinue this particular product in order to shift my attention and inspiration elsewhere, I’d love for you to still have access to it in your herbal medicine cabinet.
Anti-Inflammatory Oxymel is a delicious and enlivening infusion of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and nutrient rich superfoods in a base of raw apple cider vinegar. Formulated with ingredients that aim to modulate systemic inflammation, encourage proper detoxification of the liver, and stabilize energy levels. Our society has come to identify inflammation as the root cause of nearly all disease, so integrating anti-inflammatory foods and medicines into our day to day lives is a good idea for anyone and everyone.
What is an oxymel? Coming from the Greek word oxymeli meaning “acid + honey”, an oxymel is an herbal extract of vinegar and raw honey used as a medicinal preparation.
Necessary Equipment:
Make sure that all of your equipment is properly sanitized and as clean as can be!
-2 big glass jars with lids- I use large glass canning jars. If you can get your hands on plastic lids, that’s extra perfect, but the regular metal lids will do the trick.
-Liquid measuring cup-
-A kitchen funnel-
-A sieve/ fine strainer-
-Cheesecloth- I sometimes use a fine mesh reusable nut-milk bag in place of cheesecloth, but it is difficult to get the smell of vinegar out of the bag.
-Parchment paper-
-2 or 4 oz amber glass dropper bottle- The size of the small bottle isn’t that important, whatever size you’d like to have around for use is perfect!
Organic Ingredients:
These ingredients should be pretty easy to find in the bulk herbs + spices section at your local health food grocery store.
-8 Tbsp Fresh turmeric root- anti-inflammatory magic! chopped up into thin rounds or shredded into small bits with a box grater.
-8 Tbsp Dried cherries- highly antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. chopped into small pieces
-8 tsp Cacao nibs- highly antioxidant superfood, full of vitamins and minerals including iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.
-8 pinches Ground black pepper- a good source of manganese and may help increase your body's ability to absorb turmeric's beneficial compounds. I know, 8 pinches doesn’t sound very exact, but there’s room for individuality here!
-Raw Unfiltered Honey- use local if you can :)
-750ml Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar (with mother)- more health benefits than I can begin to mention!
Directions:
In one of your big glass jars add all of your ingredients, except for the honey. It’s easiest to pour in the liquid last so that things don’t get splashy!
Once all of the ingredients are in the jar, cover the lid of the jar with parchment paper (I try to leave plenty of paper hanging over the sides), then tightly screw on the lid. This keeps the acidity of the vinegar from compromising the integrity of the metal and possibly leaching into your medicine (oh no, scary!!!).
Store in a cool dark place, like a cabinet, and allow the vinegar infuse for at least 2 weeks (6 is better), shaking up your jar at least a couple times per week for maximum extraction. Make sure you date and label your jar, so you know what you’re working with an how long it’s been doing it’s thing!
Once your medicine is done infusing, it’s time to strain! Set up your second sanitized jar with the funnel inside. Place the sieve inside/on top of the funnel with a layer of cheesecloth on top.
Carefully pour the vinegar infusion through the cheesecloth, wrapping it up in a little bundle so that you can squeeze the liquid out into the jar. You may need to dump out the contents of the cheesecloth and refill it with contents in order to get all of the liquid out as you strain.
Once you have your infused vinegar in the jar you can add the raw unfiltered honey and use a clean wooden spoon to mix, or place a clean lid over the jar with fresh parchment paper in place and shake it up to integrate the contents.
You can transfer the Anti-Inflammatory Oxymel into a small amber dropper bottle (amber or other dark colored glass bottles are great because they protect your medicine from oxidation from light exposure) or other glass container and label it for easy use.
Store in a cool dark place. The medicine should be shelf stable for at least 6 months.
Feel free to adjust the measurements to make a bigger or smaller batch depending on your needs.
Dosage:
2-3 droppers full by mouth daily, or more as needed for acute symptoms. This also integrates really well into salad dressing recipes.
All information provided about these herbs and products is for educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Please research and understand the effects, contraindications, dosages, etc. about the listed products before you purchase or use them. This is especially important if you are ill, pregnant or nursing, or administering it to children or the elderly. If you are taking medications or other herbal supplements/remedies, please consult your physician about adding herbals to your health regimen.