Maj 2019 – juicy roots

I like a meadow covered with golden flowers and golden wreaths on my head. I like to blow my dandelions sometimes and I love when wishes come true. What about locking some of this magic in a jar ?

It’s a bit enigmatic: wishes coming true, the gold and the jar, but I promise that everything will be explained – just keep reading.

I wish I could say that this is a secret recipe for the gummiberry juice, because as you know ”Magic and Mystery,
Are part of their history,
Along with the secret,
Of gummiberry juice. ”

Undoubtedly, the recipe for gummiberry juice would be something big and I promise you that one day I will share this secret with you -work in progress.

In the meantime, I would like to tell you about another, equally wonderful, secret recipe. It’s the most carefully guarded by the bees recipe for honey from dandelions.

This is a real magic potion with lots of benefits for your health :

Lots of vitamins A, C and D, which boost our immunity, help to fight cough and support our bones
Vitamins B – necessary for nervous system and supporting the liver in removing toxins from our bodies
Potassium, magnesium, iron and silicon – supporting your immunity and digestive system
Multiple tannin with their anti-inflamatory antipruritic and germicidal properties which are particularly useful in fighting throat infections
Flavonoids slowing ageing processs and decreasing the risk of cancer and circulatory system illnesses
Triterpene – helping to lower cholesterol levels and showing painkilling, antiviral, antimycotic and detoxificating properties
Aspargine – supporting our thinking processes
Inulin – protecting intestines from infections, lowering sugar levels in your blood, supporting your immune system
Silisic acid – accelerating wound healing and improving the look of the skin
Polifenol – antiarteriosclerotic agent, improving the metabolism, fighting the fever and rheumatism

No wonder it’s called a liquid gold !

I have to admit, I’ve adjusted this recipe a bit to make it easier. Bees have hundreds of years of tradition and all infrastructure created only for honey production. We are not able to compete with them.

We can make our “honey” of dandelion flowers in an easier way, though.

Recipe for dandelion honey

Ingredients:

500 gr of flower petals
1 liter of water
Juice of 2 lemons
800 gr of sugar

Recipe:

Making honey this way is really not difficult.
You only need flower petals, water, lemons and sugar.

Remember to leave the petals spread on some paper for a while. This will give the ants and meadow spiders a chance to escape and avoid bathing.
When every living creature is safely out, put flower petals in a pot, add water and cook for 20 minutes. Leave it for the night.
Strain the dandelion petals.
Pour into the pot dandelion brew along with sugar and 2 lemon juice
Cook it slowly on a low fire for an hour or until the syrup becomes thick.

To check if the syrup is thick enough, take a little of it on a teaspoon and pour it onto a flat plate. It should get thick in a few minutes.

Enjoy your sweet honey from golden flowers ☺

Let me know if in your country you also have a dandelion and blowing them away makes wishes come true.

Birch juice

Long time ago, when our Sun was God, people also worshipped the common birch. The white tree was celebrated as a symbol of life, wisdom, and fertility.

Nowadays, thanks to advanced laboratory methods, we know that the magical properties of birch undeniably exist and we were right about its healing power.
Village healers and shamans never needed such evidence. Their knowledge of plants, potions, and ointments was based on experience of many generations.
The properties of birch tree can help with numerous diseases, heal the damages of the internal organs, deal with general weakness and tiredness of the body as well as grievous, difficult to heal wounds and eczema. Birch was used as a remedy for ailments of the soul such as anxiety or melancholy. During the Second World War, the Russian orphans had a chance to experience the life-giving powers of the tree; they were given the rich in nutritious glucose and fructose juice as a substitute for mother’s milk. The main property of birch juice is a general boost of body’s immunity by stimulation of its immune system. Juice, in addition to the groundwater collected by roots, also contains valuable nutrients such as simple sugars, high energy compounds, organic acids, alcohols, mineral salts, vitamins, and probiotics. Thanks to the content of all these ingredients the juice purifies the blood, immunizes, improves metabolism, it has beneficial effects on the kidneys and liver as well as the complexion and hair.

The easiest way to get juice at any time of the year is to buy it in the store. If we want to get the juice by ourselves, we can do it only in the early spring. For this purpose, you can cut the birch twig and drill a hole in the tree. Then insert the tube to the hole and put its end to a bottle hanged below.
One litre of juice can be taken from one tree, and the hole made in it must be then secured with a wooden bung and a garden ointment.
The fresh juice needs to be consumed pretty quickly, usually fermentation starts within 2 or 3 days. This can be prevented by preserving the juice with sugar, pasteurizing, mixing with alcohol, or freezing. However, birch leaves are easy to store, and can be simply collected and consumed in the form of teas. The leaves show a diuretic and saluretic effect and can help in diseases with metabolic disorders, young acne or rheumatism. Externally, they are used for hair loss and psoriasis. Often picked in spring and summer, birch whisks have long been used in Russian banya and Finnish saunas.

Nowadays, it is known that methyl salicylate, which protects against colds and skin diseases, is released during the burning process of birch twigs. Knowing this fact, can you, Dear reader, make a connection between a birch twigs and our all too familiar subconscious image of a witch flying on a broom? Perhaps now, with a proof provided by modern science, it is clear that the hidden messages in old children stories hide in plain sight the secret, magical ingredient of health and beauty power, used by witches and alchemists all over the world to pro-long their life and beauty. After all what makes a witch’s broom fly?

Cheers

Dandelion honey and bees secret

Birch juice