How To Tincture Fresh Hawthorn Berries – October/November, after the first frosts, is also the time to pick hawthorn berries. Hawthorn is rarely used as a hedge berry, mainly used for hawthorn gin or hawthorn brandy. You can also make jam or jelly from it. Hawthorn gin is much nicer than thorn gin. It’s not that sweet and syrupy, in fact it’s more like a fortified wine like a dry sherry than a liqueur. It is worth making time. A hawthorn gin made now will be perfect for next Christmas. If you don’t think you can wait that long, then make double the amount – some to be drunk young this year and some to mature next year. Do a lot anyway, because it’s so much more!
Sort the berries, top and stem. If you don’t, it will take quite a while and it’s not the end of the world – it will, however, create a sediment that will be difficult to filter later, and it will reduce the clarity of your gin. Put the berries in canning jars, sprinkling a little sugar between the layers. Once you’ve reached the top of the can (leaving a bit of space to shake), pour in some cheap gin (supermarket own brand will do). Seal and put in the cupboard. Shake the jar every few days or so.
Table of Contents
How To Tincture Fresh Hawthorn Berries
After 4 weeks, the berries will lose their color and the gin will take on a shade of pink. (If you leave it longer before straining, the flavor will intensify. However, you’re more likely to get a slimy sediment. If you have bright, plump berries, you can leave the gin to macerate for a few months, but if the berries are hard and discolored, a month is enough.) After strain, filter into bottles and bake for at least three months. Enjoy in moderation!
Hawthorn Berry: Benefits, Side Effects & Dosage |
Hawthorn also has a history as an herb used by herbalists to treat high blood pressure. It is also good for the heart as it has vaso-relaxing properties and is very high in bioflavonoids – also good for the heart. This is confirmed by research. (If your blood pressure is already high and you’re taking medication, you shouldn’t just stop taking it. But in conjunction with a consultation with an herbalist, you may be able to reduce your dependence on the medication.) The best way to take hawthorn berry is as a tincture. A tincture is basically an herb (in this case, hawthorn berries) that has been macerated (soaked) in alcohol to make the tincture. So basically hawthorn gin is a form of tincture. And a regular small bite, like in the old country days, can help keep the heart and blood circulation healthy. A tea made from the leaves or berries is also a healthy remedy for maintaining low blood pressure, especially when combined with linden flowers and leaves. Many years ago I planted a hawthorn tree in my garden. I’m glad I started back then!
This little tree took ten years to mature and produce the beloved berries—just in time to support my menopausal heart.
Hawthorn berry is a key ally in the wise woman’s medicine cabinet for toning your heart at all ages and stages.
In the article, you will learn some simple and interesting methods of extracting medicinal hawthorn berries to support your heart throughout your life.
Buy A.vogel Hawthorn Crataegus Drops
Botanically, hawthorn is a shrub or tree in the rose family – along with many fruit trees including apples, pears, cherries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries and mulberries.
If you look closely at hawthorn flowers, you will see their similarity to the pattern of petals that characterizes the rose family – radially symmetrical, usually with 5 petals.
Traditionally, both “hawthorn” and “hawthorn” were used to refer to this medicinal shrub, prized for its berries – the hawthorn surrounded by thorns.
A favorite healing herb in the wise woman’s herbal pharmacy, hawthorn shows how the lines between food and medicine are blurring.
Hawthorne Berry Tincture
When you take advantage of hawthorn berries, your food becomes your medicine and your medicine becomes your food.
There are many forms to play with, from water-based teas and decoctions to alcohol-based tinctures and vinegar-based oxymel. Not only from berries, but also from flowers and leaves of hawthorn.
Interested in learning more? Come, let us explore these beautiful hawthorn trees along the path of the wise woman. . .
To bring you the lowdown on this powerful herb, I turned to my favorite wise herbalist sister who specializes in hawthorn.
Branch Of Hawthorn Berries With Green Leaves. Watercolor Hand Drawn Illustration, Isolated On White Background Stock Photo
Gardener EagleSong was my first herb teacher over 30 years ago. I was a college student yearning for more than I could find in the halls of academia.
I did botany and wild plants on my own. Having EagleSong take my hand and share the herbs she knows and loves was a revelation. . .
EagleSong’s passion for hawthorn is second to none – she travels the world to research the botany and folklore of traditional hawthorn uses, and brews an amazing variety of hawthorn concoctions in her kitchen apothecary.
I invite you to immerse yourself in the botanical and culinary highlights of hawthorn with Eagle Song, the “Hawthorn Whisperer” herself. From the words of EagleSong. . .
Glass Jar Of Hawthorn Tincture And Fresh Hawthorn Berries In The Bowl, With Green Leaves. Watercolor Hand Drawn Illustration Isolated On White Backgr Stock Photo
Where do you find hawthorn (aka hawthorn)? Hawthorn, Crataegus spp., is the epitome of a common plant distributed on planet Earth in temperate northern latitudes. A member of the Rosaceae family, this small to medium-sized tree takes its place in harsh environments with grace and even charm. There are thousands of species of Crataegus found all over the world! Growing 10-50 feet with small drupes, hairs and often sharp spiny branches, Crataegus is used as a specimen tree in gardens, as a foundation tree in rural hedgerows, in orchards in China and Mexico – and as a nodulation free agent in neglected landscapes that provide shelter and food for countless insects, birds, amphibians, small mammals and, occasionally, humans! The name hawthorn is an old English word meaning belly. Before that, the term “witch” meant a hedge. So the gnarled old uncle of the hedge! Blackthorn, Crataegus oxycantha and C. monogyna predominate as shrub trees used in European hedges – along with their prickly counterpart – the thorn, plum, Prunus spinosa! An exceptionally vigorous and adaptable tree, Crataegus occasionally resorts to apomixis, a form of asexual reproduction that does not require cross-fertilization to create entirely new species. Two other herbs that are often used with this ability are Taraxacum and Alchemyla, our friends and allies, Dandelion and Lady’s Mantle. Anyway, it just tickles my fancy! Familiarity with hawthorn as a medicinal food. Generally recognized as a food with special properties wherever it grows, hawthorn preparations include hawthorn candies, juices, wine, herbal preparations – and are used fresh and dried in soups, teas, punches, jams, butter, chutney and sweets. Like many plant allies, hawthorn is not universally recognized as beneficial. At least one county in Washington state has listed hawthorn as an invasive species. Ironically, this is the county where I harvest most of the bark used in my practice. Heart health is a major concern in our communities and around the world. By misunderstanding herbal allied medicine from the ground up, the opportunity for healing and connection can be missed. Hawthorn, considered by many herbs in many traditions to be a “heart food” and heart remedy in excellent balance, is one of the herbs that personally brings me great joy to care for. Wanting this tree to enter my life more deeply, I set myself the task of finding as many ways as possible to introduce hawthorn into our daily diet. I invite you to do the same. As you get to know each other, be sure to immerse your feelings around this gnarled little tree, its leaves and flowers, its fruit, and if you’re lucky enough to be physically close to a hawthorn tree, its nature through the seasons. Can you taste sweet and sour in the mud? A shade of bitter? What do the leaves and flowers taste like? How do they feel in your mouth? What does a blooming tree smell like? Who visits these flowers with you? How do you feel when you lie on the ground under its spreading branches and watch the clouds float by? Please use these recipes and remedies as a starting point for fueling health and wholeness in your life with hawthorn. As we savor hawthorn medicine in its many expressions, perhaps we can find a deeper understanding of the complexity of a single plant… Over the past few decades, a proliferation of wonderful, delicious herbal collections has flooded into the folk tradition of folk medicine. stunning! Well done! Hawthorn Flowers & Leaves + English Tea While visiting England last May, I stayed with Heather, the gardener’s sister, whose garden nurtured and fed me for 3 weeks. Upon arrival, the hawthorn in the front garden was blooming. I asked if I could cut off some limbs to dry for tea. Heather was very kind and the hawthorn flower and leaf tea was born in a common English tradition… Ingredients 1 English tea bag (any black tea