Chill & congestion
A cold settling in the head or chest, with low heat.
Why Fire
Fire herbs open, warm, and move. Ginger, thyme, garlic, and cayenne were kitchen standbys at the first shiver.
Bitter is first hot, then cold. It speeds digestion, moves lymph and waste, wakes circulation, and calls bile from the gallbladder. As that hot, caustic bile travels, the body cools — which is why the old bitter cups were given for fever. Bitter is the strongest medicine in this tradition.
Fire · bitter
21Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Cayenne
Capsicum annuum
A pinch that sends heat to the rim of the body.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Stiff joints
Warm, move, and stimulate
Black pepper
Piper nigrum
The everyday spark that makes other spices land.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum
Bark that smells like a warmed cupboard and acts like a slow fire.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
A bud used for a toothache and a winter pot alike.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Turmeric
Curcuma longa
The golden kitchen root of sore winters.
Stiff joints · Chill & congestion · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
Remembrance in a needle — a head herb as much as a roast herb.
Dull focus · Headache · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
The chest herb that already lives in the spice jar.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Garlic
Allium sativum
The house charm that also went into the broth.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Sage
Salvia officinalis
A bitter leaf for a raw throat and a damp mouth.
Sore throat · Cough · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Bay
Laurus nobilis
The soup leaf that quietly warms a heavy pot.
Indigestion · Bloating · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Horseradish
Armoracia rusticana
A white fire in the root — it opens a closed head like a door kicked in.
Closed sinuses · Cough · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
The wound-wort and fever herb of the yard.
Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
The breakbone-fever herb — named for the ache, not for knitting bone.
Feverish & flushed · Chill & congestion · Stiff joints
Warm, move, and stimulate
Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea
The first-shiver cone-flower — a short, purposeful bitter.
Chill & congestion · Sore throat · Feverish & flushed
Warm, move, and stimulate
Horehound
Marrubium vulgare
The old cough bitter — tastes like a dare, then the chest moves.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Elecampane
Inula helenium
A deep, camphor-bitter root for a chest that will not clear.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
A resinous garden bitter for a tight, damp chest.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Mustard seed
Brassica juncea
A kitchen fire for the chest plaster and the pot.
Chill & congestion · Cough · Stiff joints
Warm, move, and stimulate
Onion
Allium cepa
The everyday fire in the bin — broth, syrup, and a chest poultice.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Angelica
Angelica archangelica
A tall bitter-aromatic of the garden — protection in the old notes, a belly fire in the pot.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Bloating
Warm, move, and stimulate
Water · salt
1Earth · sweet
3Star anise
Illicium verum
One star that perfumes a whole pot of broth or tea.
Cough · Bloating · Chill & congestion
Ground, build, and settle
Holy basil
Ocimum tenuiflorum
Tulsi — the daily cup for a long, demanding season.
Frayed nerves · Chill & congestion · Dull focus
Ground, build, and settle
Sweet goldenrod
Solidago odora
The goldenrod you can drink — anise in a late-summer leaf.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Ground, build, and settle
Air · sour
6Lemon
Citrus limon
The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.
Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Rosehip
Rosa canina
The autumn fruit of the rose — a sour pantry vitamin.
Chill & congestion · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Elderflower
Sambucus nigra
The June flower given at the first flush of a feverish cold.
Feverish & flushed · Chill & congestion · Cough
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Elderberry
Sambucus nigra
The deeper winter face of elder — a sour syrup on the pantry shelf.
Chill & congestion · Cough · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lemon thyme
Thymus citriodorus
Garden thyme with a lemon rind — roast herb and a bright steam.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Oswego tea
Monarda didyma
Bee balm — the bergamot mint that was a cupboard tea.
Chill & congestion · Feverish & flushed · Closed sinuses
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.