In Good Taste: Herbal Berbal
Warts and dropsy must have been rife in the olden days, due to the variety of cures to be found in the mystical and medical history of herbs. I remember most of the kids at school having warts on their knees and hands; at least it seemed that way. Now you hardly ever see them. Maybe the cures worked!
It's hard to believe that as recently as 1930, people in Britain were employed as root-diggers, a job that entailed digging the roots of medicinal plants in the wild. Dandelions were one of the main herbs collected. The dandelion (or "fluffy puffy" as it is called in Somerset) was used mainly as a tonic, a digestive and for treating liver and kidney complaints; however in 1653 Culpeper advised that it helped "procure rest and sleep to bodies distempered by the heat of ague fits". Dandelion was also used for dropsy and warts. The juice from any part of the plant was rubbed onto the wart and allowed to dry. This was repeated until the wart eventually disappeared.
In folk medicine the crab apple also had many uses. Apples of any kind were rubbed on warts and then buried, in the belief that they would take the warts with them. It was believed that other diseases too, could be transferred to the apple.
The hawthorn was also used for warts in a slightly more bizarre way. A snail or slug was rubbed over the wart and then impaled on a thorn from the said tree. As the slug shrivelled up and disappeared, so too would the wart. Hawthorn was good for dropsy too.
Ivy also was used. Starting on a waning moon, an ivy leaf was dipped in vinegar and applied to the wart. Folk medicine used ivy for other ailments too, including this one that may have been little needed: twigs boiled in butter helped soothe the effects of sunburn in the Scottish Highlands.
Another tree we take for granted for curing everything from hangovers (chew the bark), clearing dandruff, gout, and to bring down a fever, is the willow (Salix species). And the ashes from a burnt willow dissolved in vinegar cured - you guessed it - warts.
Having to rely on herbal remedies instead of a pill or a lotion must have involved a lot of trial and error, and many cures are as romantic as others are highly regarded and still in use.
Some personal favourites: Always wash your face in dew from a hawthorn tree if you want to be beautiful; feed your puppy daisies in milk if you want them to stay small; and don't look at mint after planting-it is shy and needs time to settle down.
Done with the wart recipes, it's time to get cooking, dust off the BBQ and grill something. This butter goes well with just about anything. Use your imagination - make up your own favourite combination of herb butter and keep it in the freezer for impromptu dinners over the summer.
Rosemary and garlic butter
200g butter, softened
1 head of garlic
1 stalk of rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
Freshly ground pepper and sea salt
Heat the oven to 180ºC and roast the garlic bulb wrapped in some tinfoil. This can be done while cooking the dinner at any time. When totally tender, squeeze the garlic pulp out into a bowl. Add all other ingredients and mash together with a fork until well blended. Place the mixture on some baking paper and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends to seal and place in the freezer until required.
Place in the fridge on the day you will be firing up the barbie. Cut a slice from the roll of butter and place on the top of each hot grilled piece of meat (or chicken).
Now that the roses and lavender are in bloom, make some flavoured sugars to keep and add to your shortbread or meringue recipes, or to place in a gorgeous jar and give away as a present for Christmas.
Lavender or rose sugar
Unsprayed dry rose petals (fragrant), or lavender flowers
Caster sugar
Airtight glass jars
Layer the sugar and flowers of your choice in the jar. Leave in a cool dark place for two weeks. Sieve the sugar to remove the flowers. Place back in the jar, seal and keep in the pantry.
Fiona Feasey
