Rosemary Flower Candies (Rosemarinus Officinalis)
by: Simon Mitchell
Leave your tic-tacs at home. This medicinal plant provides delicious
mouth fresheners to integrate into a balanced healing diet.
When a herb or plant has the designation 'officinalis' it means
it has been recognised to have medicinal qualities. 'Rosemarinus',
so called because of marine connections (colour of sea - grows
by sea e.g. Mediterranean) is possibly the best example of a herb
that we commonly grow that has extensive folklore and many attributed
medicinal values.
Beloved by the Romans, who bought it to the UK from Turkey, they
believed this valuable herb could preserve dead bodies from corruption
and it was often strewn or grown in graveyards and around tombs.
It was well known to the Tudors as a stimulant to the system.
In ‘The Garden of Health’ (1579) William Langham writes:
"Carry the flowers about thee to make thee merry and glad
and well beloved of all men...hang the flowers on thy bed and
place Rosemary in the bath to make thee lusty, lively, joyful,
strong and young. To comfort the heart steep Rosemary flowers
in rose water and drink it".
Gerard agrees in his 1636 Herbal. "The flowers of Rosemary,
made up into lozenges with sugar and eaten make the heart merry,
quicken the spirits and make them more lively". He also notes
that Rosemary water acts as a breath freshener.
Rosemary has long been recognised as a valuable heart and liver
tonic and its use can help to reduce high blood pressure. It has
been used in the treatment of nervous complaints, digestive disorders
and menstrual pains.
Rosemary is a symbol of constancy in love because it remains
fresh and fragrant when cut, longer most other evergreens. For
this reason it was often used for solemn occasions such as weddings
or funerals - 'Be it for my bridal or my burial'. As in Shakespeare’s
Hamlet, Rosemary is for remembrance and in the language of flowers
the gift of Rosemary means 'Never will your memory fade'. Ancient
myth has it that ‘Where Rosemary flourishes - the woman
rules’. Rosemary is sometimes used in psychic work as an
aid to concentration, memory and mental steadiness. Under the
pillow or over the bed its delicious aroma is said to prevent
nightmares.
One word of warning though - excessive use of Rosemary taken
internally can cause fatal poisoning, but that is no reason not
sample the delicious and invigorating herbal tea or eat a few
of the flowers.
Like the raw flowers, Rosemary sugar candies are a tiny taste
explosion and quite delicious. Preserving them in sugar helps
to extend the amount of time you can experience this uplifting
Epicurean event. First of all find a plant with flowers. It often
flowers twice a year so this should not be too difficult. You
can either pick the whole flower from the plant, or set up some
arrangement that catches them as they fall naturally.
In a warm place, such as a sunlit window sill above a radiator,
drop the flowers onto dried (even warmed) white sugar. Make sure
the receptacle is open enough that moisture can evaporate from
the flowers into the sugar and then into the atmosphere. Also
make sure that no moisture gets to this mixture at any point as
the sugar will ‘clump’ and the flowers will start
to rot, spoiling the taste. Shake the mixture now and then to
aid the process.
When thoroughly dry, seal the sugar/flower mixture into a moisture-proof
receptacle and every now and then - treat yourself !
With thanks to: J. Lust, M. Woodward, D. Conway, C.L. Zalewski,
R. Genders.
About The Author
Simon Mitchell
From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe.
If you wish to republish this article (with resource box intact)
you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/rosemary.html
|
