The cupboard

Kitchen herbs & spices

Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.

Air· sourSour is cooling and astringent. It draws and binds, thickens thin blood, starts saliva, and hydrates even as it tightens. Sour plants carry the antioxidants of fruit. They move mucous and support the lungs — large doses irritate. Lemon-family plants show up again and again in sinus cups.

15 plants

Air· sourGenerally safe

Lemon

Citrus limon

The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.

Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Peppermint

Mentha × piperita

The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.

Bloating · Indigestion · Headache

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Lemon balm

Melissa officinalis

A lemon-leaf for a circling mind and a mild viral season.

Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Feverish & flushed

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Hibiscus

Hibiscus sabdariffa

A crimson sour that drinks like a summer cooler and a winter tonic.

Feverish & flushed · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Dull focus

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Elderflower

Sambucus nigra

The June flower given at the first flush of a feverish cold.

Feverish & flushed · Chill & congestion · Cough

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Coriander

Coriandrum sativum

A citrus-seed that cools a hot spice blend and a hot belly.

Indigestion · Bloating · Feverish & flushed

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Spearmint

Mentha spicata

The sweeter mint — kinder to children and to a tender stomach.

Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

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

Air· sourCaution

Willow

Salix alba

The stream-bank bark for an ache — sour, drawing, old as a headache.

Headache · Stiff joints · Feverish & flushed

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourCaution

Peach leaf

Prunus persica

The orchard leaf for a queasy, heated middle.

Nausea · Indigestion · Feverish & flushed

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Sumac

Rhus typhina

A lemonade from the hedge — sour, red, and cooling.

Feverish & flushed · Sore throat · Dryness

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourLimit the cup

Borage

Borago officinalis

Star-flower — cucumber-cool, a lift for a heavy heart.

Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed · Hollow energy

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Oswego tea

Monarda didyma

Bee balm — the bergamot mint that was a cupboard tea.

Chill & congestion · Feverish & flushed · Closed sinuses

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

Salad burnet

Sanguisorba minor

Cucumber in a leaf — a salad herb that also makes a clean cup.

Feverish & flushed

Brighten, circulate, and clear

Air· sourGenerally safe

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