About six weeks ago I began making myself a Hawthorn Heart
Tonic syrup (see Post HERE), but things happen and I soaked my berries longer
than the required four weeks. Apparently,
that makes little difference to the potency of the tonic.
Today I finally bestirred myself and finished making the
Tonic.
The full recipe, as I have made it, is as follows:
Place 150g dried hawthorn berries into a glass jar and cover
with 2 cups brandy (I used 43% alcohol brandy).
Place lid on the jar, and leave the berries to soak for four weeks. Check the brandy level after a couple of days
of soaking, and if the berries are no longer covered add a little more brandy
so that they are. Give the jar a gentle
shake each day – and be careful if your lid is not waterproof as the liquor
stains fabric (as I discovered!).
Strain the berries through a sieve, retaining the brandy
liquor. Place the berries into a large
stainless steel saucepan and add 5 cups cold water. Bring to the boil (uncovered), and then
simmer for one hour.
Strain the berries through a jelly bag – I no longer own a
jelly bag, so I left them to drain in the sieve until they were no longer dripping. Do not use a blender or crush the seeds in any
way as they contain a potential poison, Amygdalin (also found in the seeds of
apricots, apples, peaches, cherries and plums).
Measure out the juice and return it to the saucepan. I’m not entirely sure what I did (perhaps I simmered
it too fast?) but there wasn’t much liquid, so I added boiling water to make
the quantity up to one cup.
Bring to the boil and stir in the equivalent amount of white
sugar (that is, one cup of sugar for each cup of juice). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved,
then remove from the heat and leave it to cool down.
Add ¼ cup of the brandy liquor (which is now actually a
“tincture”) to the syrup, and pour into a glass bottle.
Pour the remaining tincture into a different glass bottle (I
carefully avoided using the ‘dregs’ and I presume it could be filtered through
a coffee paper or similar if you wanted to).
Label both bottles.
The Hawthorn Tincture can be stored in a cool dry place (not the fridge)
out of the light, and will keep indefinitely (it can also be used when soaking
berries to make another batch of syrup).
Hawthorn Syrup will keep for around three months in the fridge, or
longer if the bottle top has been sealed with wax.
USEAGE:
Of course, it goes without saying that I recommend anyone contemplating making this herbal remedy to obtain medical advice from a trusted health professional before using it. Hawthorn has been
acknowledged as a cardiac tonic for centuries and is generally regarded as a
food more than a medicine as it does not build up in the body and cause
toxicity issues, but it is always prudent to check things out first.
Like most herbal remedies, Hawthorn does take time
to work. It generally needs to be taken
daily for 6-8 weeks before any noticeable difference occurs in blood pressure
or cholesterol levels.
The dosage that I intend taking is one teaspoon of syrup in
the morning and one teaspoon of tincture in the evening, but I have read that
you can take up to half to one teaspoon of syrup three times a day, or half a
teaspoon (2.5ml) of tincture three times a day.
Let’s hope it works!
A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes
healing (Proverbs 17:22)
Margaret 😊
What a interesting post - I think I'd be a bit worried about the poison!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, let us know if it makes a difference in your numbers. Letting your berries soak too long, maybe they will ferment and make a totally different kind of tonic!
ReplyDeleteWell that is a healthy adventure!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting how one goes about making the tincture and the syrup. I hope you get great results.
ReplyDeleteThat is a fascinating post Margaret - so glad you have shared it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLove your quote too
Blessings
Maxine
Thank you so much for sharing this, a fascinating post. I hope the resulting tonic and tincture work their magic.
ReplyDelete