Closed sinuses
A packed head, no air through the nose, pressure behind the eyes.
Why Fire
Fire opens what damp has shut. Horseradish, ginger, cayenne, and the fennel–fenugreek pot were kitchen standbys. Sour lemon-family plants ride along because they move mucous.
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
6Cayenne
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
Garlic
Allium sativum
The house charm that also went into the broth.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Sore throat
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
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
Onion
Allium cepa
The everyday fire in the bin — broth, syrup, and a chest poultice.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Ground ivy
Glechoma hederacea
Alehoof — a mint-bitter of the lawn, used in a moderate pot.
Cough · Closed sinuses · Headache
Warm, move, and stimulate
Water · salt
1Earth · sweet
2Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
The after-dinner seed that lets wind leave quietly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
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
Air · sour
2Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.
Bloating · Indigestion · Headache
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.