Re: Woodland Cordial: Herbalism Experiment 1.0
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 4:23 pm
The spirit of the books do reflect the intentions of the author, but they also have access to herbs and things which we cannot find in Earth's current age. Optimally, you could include ingredients from all around the world. I think Indian Intellect Tree, Ginseng, Goji Berries, and Ginger could all potentially add to what you're making. There are more exotic things too, like Cordyceps fungus, which is directly energizing and seems to decrease recovery times for exertions (and doesn't have much of a taste by itself). Or if there is a way to add caffeine, that might not be a bad idea.
Ginger, though, is almost too good to pass up for what you are making: It's anti-inflammatory, settles the stomach, and is energizing and tasty for most people. You could probably even allow a higher concentration of other ingredients due to the stomach-settling effect of the ginger. Most people find the smell uplifting, and Ginger Beer was a common drink in Europe at least a couple hundred years ago. I don't know how far back Ginger beer goes, but it pre-dates our favorite author by a bit.
Turmeric is another good one, which is related to Ginger and might have even more anti-inflammatory properties, and seems to be an excellent medicine for the liver when combined with black pepper (but now maybe we're making chutney instead of a cordial).
If you perfect your recipe and want to make something totally different in character for different occasion, a Lemon, ginger, turmeric, honey tincture might be nice, and might go well with a little black pepper in it. Energizing and would probably just about cure a cold. You might even slip a little Cayenne in there to give it bite and the extra edge over a cold. But I don't know how medicinal or spicy you like your herbal things.
Keeping things as European as possible, in my opinion, doesn't exclude ginger though, based on what I've read about the popularity of ginger beers.
Overall though, I find many of the European herbs very subtle in their effects compared to Asian or South American plants. If you have a definite purpose you want to achieve, such as something energizing for when you're walking a long haul through the forest, I feel its easier to achieve this with a world-wide palette of herbs.
Just my thoughts. I found this an extremely interesting thread.
--Lyra
Ginger, though, is almost too good to pass up for what you are making: It's anti-inflammatory, settles the stomach, and is energizing and tasty for most people. You could probably even allow a higher concentration of other ingredients due to the stomach-settling effect of the ginger. Most people find the smell uplifting, and Ginger Beer was a common drink in Europe at least a couple hundred years ago. I don't know how far back Ginger beer goes, but it pre-dates our favorite author by a bit.
Turmeric is another good one, which is related to Ginger and might have even more anti-inflammatory properties, and seems to be an excellent medicine for the liver when combined with black pepper (but now maybe we're making chutney instead of a cordial).
If you perfect your recipe and want to make something totally different in character for different occasion, a Lemon, ginger, turmeric, honey tincture might be nice, and might go well with a little black pepper in it. Energizing and would probably just about cure a cold. You might even slip a little Cayenne in there to give it bite and the extra edge over a cold. But I don't know how medicinal or spicy you like your herbal things.
Keeping things as European as possible, in my opinion, doesn't exclude ginger though, based on what I've read about the popularity of ginger beers.
Overall though, I find many of the European herbs very subtle in their effects compared to Asian or South American plants. If you have a definite purpose you want to achieve, such as something energizing for when you're walking a long haul through the forest, I feel its easier to achieve this with a world-wide palette of herbs.
Just my thoughts. I found this an extremely interesting thread.
--Lyra