The cupboard
Kitchen herbs & spices
Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.
Fire· bitterBitter 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.
10 plants
Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
A bud used for a toothache and a winter pot alike.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
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
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
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
Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
A resinous garden bitter for a tight, damp chest.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
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
Speedwell
Veronica officinalis
A mild bitter, tea-like herb of the old European jars.
Cough · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate