Make Better Medicine: Fiery Oxymel

© Lisa Ganora 2022

Oxymel
The word oxymel originates from two Greek root-words: oxys meaning ‘sharp’ or in this case ‘sour’ … &
meli meaning ‘honey’ or ‘sweetness.’ Old-school sweet & sour! Oxymels are particularly known to be
helpful for conditions of the respiratory tract as they can be demulcent, relaxant &/or stimulating &
diffusive expectorants (depending on which herbs you add). The Physio-Medicalist William Cook (a
botanical physician, professor, botanist, author & medical school director of the 1800s) says, in his
Physio-Medical Dispensatory, Pharmacy section: “For internal use, acetous tinctures [vinegar extracts]
are confined to pulmonary debility with viscid mucous; to hooping-cough, croup, and similar troubles of
the respiratory organs … vinegar, if good, preserves substances effectually … Vinegar tinctures are
oftenest made into either sirups or oxymels, for inward use.”

Fiery Oxymel Recipe (Double Extraction)

Plan: Infuse the spicy herbs into both honey & vinegar, separately. Strain, then mix equal amounts of the
herbal-infused honey & the herbal-infused vinegar together (while still warm).

Supplies & Ingredients:

• 500 mL organic Apple cider vinegar

• 500 mL local honey
• 2 full bulbs (not cloves!) of Garlic
• 2 hand-sized chunks of fresh Ginger rhizome (80 - 100 grams)
• 2 handfuls of fresh Turmeric rhizome (80 - 100 grams)
• 2 TBSP Cayenne Pepper flakes
• 2 Lemons
• 2 suitable vessels for infusing, one for the honey extract & one for the vinegar extract. For a
vessel you could use a fruit jar in a water bath, a double boiler, a Visions® Pyrex ceramic cooking
pot, etc. Just make sure there will be enough room for both the herbs & the fluids.
• 2 Wooden stirring paddles / big wooden spoons
• 2 burners / hotplates to heat the infusions on – make sure they don’t overheat
• Fine-mesh metal kitchen strainer/s
• Batter bowl/s (giant glass measuring cup) to strain into
• Funnel/s
• Good chopping knife
• Cutting board
• Sanitized & labeled storage vessel for finished oxymel. Wash with hot soapy water & rinse, then
use a little vodka as a final rinse to sanitize. In fact, sanitize all your equipment!

1
Make it!
• Mince the Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, & Lemon. Not too tiny, or it will be hard to strain out of
the honey. But smaller chunks = greater surface area = more complete extraction.
• Put half of the Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, & Cayenne into each vessel. In other words, each
vessel will contain:
o One bulb of Garlic
o ~ 40 - 50 grams of fresh Ginger
o ~ 40 - 50 grams of fresh Turmeric
o 1 TBSP Cayenne flakes
o One lemon (peel & all, chopped)
• Cover the chopped herbs in one vessel with the honey; in the other vessel with the vinegar.
Put lids loosely on the pots or jars.
• Sub-simmer the honey (~ 130 °F), lid on (but wipe off the accumulating water periodically)
for a total infusion time of ~ 4-6 hours. If it smells like burning sugar, it’s too hot.
• Sub-simmer the vinegar (with the lid on the pot) for ~ 1 hour. Don’t let it actually simmer or
boil, it will drive off too many of the volatile constituents that add to the flavor & medicinal
power of the oxymel. Then let it steep, covered, for another hour. Total infusion time: ~ 2
hours.
• When both are finished infusing, strain them. Mix equal amounts together while still warm.
Ta-da: Fiery Oxymel!
• The marc is still spicy & delicious. The honey marc is like candied Ginger & you can eat it or
save it to make sauces, condiments, etc. The vinegar marc is quite tart, not so good for
eating but you can use it in recipes for salad dressing, sauces, etc.
• I store my finished oxymel in the fridge. It will keep fairly well at room temperature but will
grow mold eventually. In the fridge it will last for a year or two.

Dose
One tsp. to one Tbsp., as needed – especially helpful in the early stages of illness. If you have a
tincture to give at the same time, squirt a dose of the tincture into a spoon then fill the rest of
the spoon with oxymel. I like to use this with most respiratory infections as it is a Vital stimulant,
a strong diffusive, a diaphoretic, & a mucolytic expectorant. It also makes a nice circulatory &
digestive stimulant, & it’s loaded with anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, & cancer-preventative
flavonoids & related phytochemicals.