Indigestion
Heaviness, slow digestion, or food that sits.
Why Fire
Bitter fire was thought to kindle a sluggish pot. Aromatic seeds and peels follow to keep the meal from stagnating.
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
18Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
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
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
The lawn weed that taught kitchens what bitter is for.
Indigestion · Puffiness · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Bay
Laurus nobilis
The soup leaf that quietly warms a heavy pot.
Indigestion · Bloating · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
The berry that tastes like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in one jar.
Bloating · Indigestion · Crampy cycle
Warm, move, and stimulate
Yellow dock
Rumex crispus
A taproot that goes to the clay — the bitter used for ‘thick blood’ and eruptive skin.
Irritable skin · Indigestion · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Catnip
Nepeta cataria
A gentle bitter for a tight belly and a restless night.
Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Feverish & flushed
Warm, move, and stimulate
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
The coffee-dark bitter that wakes a sluggish middle.
Indigestion · Hollow energy · Puffiness
Warm, move, and stimulate
Hops
Humulus lupulus
The beer-bitter that puts a room to bed.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis
Yellow root — the strongest bitter in many a cupboard, and the one to spend least.
Sore throat · Closed sinuses · Indigestion
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
Mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris
The dream-bitter — a pinch in the pillow or a short cup for a stuck cycle.
Crampy cycle · Indigestion · Restless sleep
Warm, move, and stimulate
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
A gentle bitter that also draws — belly, liver story, a loose bowel.
Indigestion · Irritable skin
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
Wood betony
Stachys officinalis
A mild bitter tea of the old nervine jars — tea-like, not harsh.
Frayed nerves · Headache · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Water · salt
3Slippery elm
Ulmus rubra
A bark gruel for a throat or belly that feels scraped.
Sore throat · Dryness · Indigestion
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
The garnish that was once a draining green.
Puffiness · Indigestion
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Lovage
Levisticum officinale
The celery of the herb bed — one leaf seasons a whole pot.
Indigestion · Bloating
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Earth · sweet
9Chamomile
Matricaria chamomilla
The evening apple-scent that settles both belly and mind.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Bloating
Ground, build, and settle
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
The after-dinner seed that lets wind leave quietly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Ground, build, and settle
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
A sweet, eucalyptus-green seed that finishes a heavy meal.
Indigestion · Bloating · Hollow energy
Ground, build, and settle
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
Maple-scented seeds that cook like food and comfort like broth.
Hollow energy · Indigestion · Crampy cycle
Ground, build, and settle
Caraway
Carum carvi
The rye-bread seed that was also a wind-breaking tea.
Bloating · Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Nutmeg
Myristica fragrans
A sweet, warm grate for a restless night and a tight middle.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Sweet cicely
Myrrhis odorata
Anise in a ferny leaf — the old sweetener of a sour pot.
Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Sweet marjoram
Origanum majorana
The sweeter sister of oregano — a mild kitchen spice for a quiet pot.
Indigestion
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
12Lemon
Citrus limon
The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.
Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.
Bloating · Indigestion · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Basil
Ocimum basilicum
The pesto leaf that also wakes a dull head and a cold meal.
Indigestion · Dull focus · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
A citrus-seed that cools a hot spice blend and a hot belly.
Indigestion · Bloating · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Spearmint
Mentha spicata
The sweeter mint — kinder to children and to a tender stomach.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Cramp bark
Viburnum opulus
The bark named for its job — a sour ease for a gripping cramp.
Crampy cycle · Indigestion
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Peach leaf
Prunus persica
The orchard leaf for a queasy, heated middle.
Nausea · Indigestion · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Dill
Anethum graveolens
The pickle seed — a bright, green ease for a windy belly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lemon verbena
Aloysia citrodora
The sharpest lemon leaf in the garden — a cup of crushed green citrus.
Frayed nerves · Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus
Anise in a narrow leaf — the vinegar herb and a sharp kitchen green.
Indigestion
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Costmary
Tanacetum balsamita
Alecost — balsamic mint and lemon in a stillroom leaf.
Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lemongrass
Cymbopogon citratus
Kitchen lemon in a grass — the brightest citrus pot after the fruit itself.
Feverish & flushed · Indigestion · Dull focus
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.