My Unexpected Journey into Herbalism

When I decided to start making my own gin I never thought that it would start me on an unexpected journey into herbalism. Nor did I ever think that getting Long Covid would accelerate me along that path.

You will have realised from my blog that I love growing things and turning them into food, drinks and more, preserving nature’s bounty and transforming it into items to be enjoyed with others. Initially that was via the more common methods of making jams, pickles and cordials; along with incorporating herbs and edible flowers into various edible and non-edible items such as bath products.

When I started making gin, along with my still, I of course needed to get a supply of the necessary botanicals. Once I had those botanicals lined up in glass jars I realised that many of them could be used in making teas as well. So I invested in an online course on blending herbal teas – much more interested at that stage in the flavour combination aspects than any particular health dimension. My collection of botanicals in glass jars expanded.

My interest in gin expanded as well as I started to explore all the various flavour combinations including infusing the gins with mainly produce from my garden. People seemed to really like my gin and it became a desirable present. It was starting to become expensive because I was still buying vodka to use as my base.

Although the Distillation Workshop I attended did cover making your own base spirit (that then gets flavoured with botanicals to create gin), my still is very small (3L) and the amount produced in a distillation run is also very small. So whilst possible (see Making Gin at Home completely from scratch), it certainly wasn’t a viable option long term. I wasn’t sure that my interest in making alcohol was sufficient to justify purchasing a much larger still (both expense-wise and the space to put it).

Then a colleague at work told me about the Air Still Pro made by Still Spirits (see Making Alcohol 3 Ways). This looks a bit like a tea urn and much the same size so you can easily put it on the kitchen bench.  You can simply set it up and leave it because it turns itself off once it has distilled all the alcohol (to a high proof level). This suited me perfectly because I really don’t have a lot of interest in this aspect of alcohol production, it is simply a cheaper way of getting it.

Once I had mastered the craft of making a palatable base spirit, I realised that I also now had access to high proof alcohol and that I could dilute it to any level I wanted. This opened up the potential for making herbal tinctures. I had thought about this previously but decided against proceeding because many recipes used higher proof alcohols that were expensive and difficult to get hold of.

I had been recommended a book called DIY Bitters: Reviving the Forgotten Flavour – a guide to making your own bitters, for bartenders, cocktail enthusiasts and herbalists that is absolutely amazing. It explains the process of making tinctures along with information on a whole range different herbs, instructions for making tinctures from them, and a whole raft of different recipes using different combinations of tinctures. The recipes cover a range from stock bases, chutneys, syrups, elixirs and bitters blends – along with further recipes with suggestions of how to use them. Many of the recipes can be taken directly at levels to support your health in different ways or just to spice up beverages such as cocktails and mocktails.

I was hooked! I started to make a supply of base spirits so that I could start to make tinctures for the bitters recipes that took my fancy. I ordered packages of the various herbs online and dug out my larger jars to make the tinctures in.

About this time I caught Covid for the first time and unfortunately I was one of the ‘lucky’ ones for whom it continued on to become Long Covid. For most of the time I really didn’t have the energy or brain power to do much at all, but I realised that it didn’t take much to set up the yeast solutions to start making alcohol and then put these through the AirStill to create my base spirits. It also didn’t take much to order a range of different herbs to put in the alcohol once it was made. So for many weeks and months all I achieved was making tinctures.

When I started making the tinctures I was primarily interested in making nice tasting drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) so I was tincturing the herbs for that purpose. As my covid symptoms developed I became interested in the recipes that helped support healthy respiratory and immune systems and sent away for more herbs for this new use. Many of the tinctures can take up to 2 months to make including the time for the herbs to be delivered and then often requiring soaking for 4-6 weeks. By the time 2 months had gone by my symptoms had progressed and I had sinus and digestive issues so I sent away for still more herbs to make tinctures to support these conditions. I still hadn’t had the energy or brain power to make any of the recipes using my tinctures but I wasn’t particularly concerned because alcohol-based tinctures can last for many years if stored appropriately so none of them would be wasted. My home apothecary was starting to look quite impressive.

During the depths of my illness, I watched a whole heap of videos on plant-based health solutions. These were all based on the position that most, if not all, health disorders and diseases stem from problems with the gut and especially with the gut microbiome (the bugs that live in it and help us with our digestion). Many of the plants that are key to healing are ones that are commonly found in our kitchens and pantries – thankfully! It is not surprising that many of these are herbs and spices, and that traditional recipes that have been passed down through the generations are based on the knowledge of what herbs support, for example, digestion of a large meal or balancing rich foods. There are also herbal teas and syrups that have regularly been taken to, for example, build immunity and resilience coming into the winter colds and flu season.

My interest was growing even further. I did some further online courses with the Herbal Academy to better understand fundamental elements of all sorts of different aspects of herbalism that I had already started down the pathway of, such as tincturing, herbal teas, herbal drinks, and wild foraging. I was certainly keen to grow and use more herbs in my garden and to utilise those that appear by themselves – aka weeds. This was an eye opener for me. The most important aspect is to make sure you know exactly what you are growing/harvesting and that you have the right thing. Even something as simple as dandelions that grow in most lawns: there are in fact 4 different species of weeds in NZ that are very similar to dandelion. Two have hairy leaves and 2 have smooth leaves, a different 2 have branched flower stems and the other 2 have single flower stems – dandelions have smooth leaves and single fleshy flower stems.

It is quite daunting in the early stages of the herbalism journey because there is just so much to learn. There are so many different herbs each with their specific uses across different areas, some also have warnings of when you shouldn’t use them. Different parts of the same plant may have different constituents and therefore different uses. You need to know when to harvest from them, the best ways to preserve and use them as well as when to use them for what.

At this stage I feel a lot more comfortable using recipes from an expert (e.g. the DIY Bitters book) and particularly those that are aimed more at taste but with a general health benefit rather than those that have a more medicinal action. It is also fairly safe to use herbs that we regularly consume in our diets without any negative effects. There is a lot that you can do within those boundaries.

Beyond that it is good to slowly expand your repertoire by investigating one herb/botanical at a time and really getting to know as much as you can about it. My new herb of the moment is the elder – both elderflowers and elderberries. I planted one in my garden and have started to get some reasonable harvests of flowers and fruit (that I have been drying to give me more flexibility about how and when I use them). I’ve made elderflower cordial previously but now I have a much different perspective as I make tinctures, syrups and more. You will see some of the recipes I have tried on my blog in due course.

I love the idea of being able to grow (almost) everything I need in my own garden. Obviously it will not be possible to grow all the plants as many are far too big or only grow in tropical climates etc. Also many of the highly desirable plants have become so much in demand that they are now endangered species so difficult and expensive to find from a sustainable source. Thankfully there are often different herbs that have similar constituents and activities – when you know what you are doing. I would love to gradually learn suitable alternatives for things I use regularly, for example, gentian root is traditionally used in many bitters recipes. However, many gentians are rare or endangered in many countries and loss of their restricted habitat is a major threat. Artichoke leaves are intensely bitter and can provide a reliable foundation for bitter formulas – perhaps this is a much more sustainable substitute for gentian in at least some of these recipes.

I will share more of my unexpected journey into herbalism as it progresses.