DIY Ointments with Healing Kitchen Herbs - Part 1

by Ardith Beveridge, Tastemaker in Residence Recipes from Blooms

The nights chilly, the mornings are crisp, Autumn is holding us in her arms. Use some of Mother Nature’s gifts to help you enjoy the season now and the ones to come.

Herbs are not only a culinary delight but also have hidden abilities; they heal! 

Sage, thyme, lemon balm or marjoram used in homemade ointments for soothing and healing wounds, and help enhance the natural aging of the skin! 

Here’s how a salve can be made at home.

Ingredients (for about 60 ml Ointment)
60 grams (2.1 oz) vegetable fat
10 ml vegetable oil
20 grams (.71 oz) of dried medicinal herbs 

Instructions

1. For the ointment, cut commercial vegetable fat in pieces and put together with the oil in a saucepan. Add the chopped herbs and bring the fat to a low heat and melt slowly. Stir frequently to prevent a homogenous mass. If the fat is completely melted, let everything simmer at low heat about half an hour.
2. Then remove from heat and allow to cool a little before the liquid ointment can be poured into the container. For this purpose, use a filter paper to pour from the ointment saucepan to filter out the herbs.
3. Screw on the cover (a jar of your choosing) until the homemade ointment is completely cooled.

Calendula - medicinal plant marigold
 

Hildegard von Bingen already knew the healing power of the marigold (Calendula officinalis). 
The attractive bloom contains numerous active ingredients that can for example react like an anti-inflammatory. 

From June, the marigold with its bright yellow to orange flowers has made a particularly beautiful ornament in our gardens. But the attractive plant that belongs to the daisy family, can do a lot more.

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) recommended it against indigestion and inflammation of all kinds. And today, the healing power of the marigold is undisputed. Thus, the flowers contain inter alia flavonoids, saponins and essential oils. This can in turn be used for teas, prepared juices, tinctures and oils that serve as a basis for ointment. Tea and juice will be used internally and will help to relieve the inflammation in the throat. But outwardly deployed Calendula can relieve in the form of an ointment; for example, open wounds, bruises, sunburn or eczema. 

Homemade cream for chapped hands from Marigolds

These bright flowers are pretty to look at not only as decoration in a vase, but can do so much more. The Marigold for example, is processed for a wellness hand cream and its curative effect for rough and chapped hands. We'll show you how it's done!

For the nurturing hand cream you need:

Ingredients
500 g (18 oz) Vaseline
2 to 3 handfuls of marigold flowers (dried or fresh)

Instructions

1. Warm Vaseline in a saucepan, add the marigold flowers and lightly stir.
2. Let the Vaseline rest for one night in the pan and heat it again the next day. As the balm reaches a creamy consistency, swipe it through a sieve.
3. Fill the final hand cream in decorative screw-top jars.
4. Rest your hands now with this nurturing spa treatment! 

Cook's Tip: gifting friends and family with this hand homemade cream! Especially the gardeners will rejoice.