RECIPES

Saturday 10 October 2020

Starting The Day With Oxymel

 

Oxymel is an ancient mixture made of honey and an acid such as apple cider vinegar.  Hippocrates wrote about it for its ability to produce expectoration and promote “freedom of breathing.” 

It used to appear in ancient herbals for use as an immune system booster, often infused with various herbs and/or spices.

Traditionally the mix was made of five parts honey to one of vinegar, but modern taste often dictates a one to one ratio.  A teaspoon of the mixture is stirred into a cup of hot (not boiling) water and drunk on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.




My Nana often began her day with a teaspoon of commercial honey/apple cider vinegar mix stirred into a glass of cold water.  She claimed it helped her arthritis, but it never helped mine! 

I dislike the harsh taste of vinegar but I do love honey.

My good friend J is Maori, and his grandmother told them to drink a teaspoon of manuka honey in a glass of hot water first thing every morning.  She said it was good for the heart and cleansed the kidneys, and gave one strength to face the coming day.

Pure manuka honey is expensive so I buy a honey mix that contains manuka.  I stir one teaspoon into my hot water and drink this first thing on most mornings (sometimes it is in the wee hours when I am having trouble sleeping).  

It is a nourishing, gentle way for me to break the night’s time of fasting.  My husband used to love starting his day with a serve of chilled juicy fresh fruit. 

Do you have a favourite thing you like to start your day with?

Margaret 😊


P.S. I love today’s date – 10/10/2020 !



15 comments:

  1. I would enjoy the honey part but not so keen on the vinegar part!
    My morning starter is a cup of instant coffee with milk. I grew up as a teenager in England drinking instant coffee and in the morning I prefer it to the real stuff. Yes, I am a philistine.

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    1. Son always starts his day with two instant coffees before he stops being a grumpy bear!

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  2. I eat an egg every morning. If I don’t have one, I feel hungry. Decaf coffee always gets me started too.

    Enjoy the rest of the weekend, Margaret.

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  3. I've never heard of Manuka honey but it does sound interesting. I must check if it is available in Canada and if it costs an exorbitant price. I normally start my day with orange juice.

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    1. Manuka (also called teatree) has a lot of medicinal properties and is even used to treat burns. It is quite a miracle honey!

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  4. Apparently we start (and end) our days with Oxymel. A teaspoon of honey with a capful of apple cider vinegar in a glass of warm water. I also drink lots of water with a few drops of apple cider vinegar in it during the day.

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  5. Roiboos. Well actually MrT starts his day with a commercial brand of catfood, and a helping of Tigger 'salad' carefully hand selected from the pot on the balcony, but F drinks redbush. (Mr B is a green tea day-starter.) xxx Tigger (F & Mr B)

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  6. I used to drink water with apple cider vinegar but I didn't feel it did me any good. Now I just have a cup of good filter coffee. Black nowadays.

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  7. I love honey, but cannot handle the acid in the vinegar... I may just try adding honey to my usual hot water that I start the day with. Like you I use a honey with manuka in it - pure manuka is unbelievably expensive.
    have you tried Rewarewa? That is also a powerful healer with an caramel-like flavour.
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

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    1. Rewarewa would be my favourite eating honey as I love the flavour. I find clover too sweet and bush honey too sharp, even straight manuka is rather strong. Try some honey in your hot water and see what you think - I often have plain hot water during the day if I don't feel like drinking tea (I'm not a coffee drinker).

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  8. Right! I did that a couple of years ago, too - thank you for the reminder, I´ll resume that, and now it even has a name, didn´t know it´s called Oxymel!

    I start with tea, how boring! Oh, if it wasn´t for Corinna, I think weddings today would take place like crazy! Also because... even men can remember that date (just kidding, but it works. A friend of mine married 09/10/11, my Brother in October, too, some weeks later, cannot remember that date!)...

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  9. Hello,
    I heard apple cider vinegar is good for the digestive system, I have used it many times and I love honey! I have to have coffee to start my day! Take care, enjoy your day!

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  10. I would like to get Riger to try this...I think honey probably has more benefits than we know. And might try to start it myself.

    I have no habit of the morn..

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  11. I love a big mug of tea, and a cup of coffee in the morning! If I am coughing, I think it helps with honey in the tea. There is a lot of wisdom in old advices.

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Thank-you for visiting my blog. I love it when you leave a comment so please feel free to have your say. Have a great day! Margaret xx