Warming oil
½ teaspoon cayenne in 1 cup sesame or olive oil. Apply to muscle aches and arthritic joints. Wash hands. Keep out of eyes.
Fire· bitterCaution
Cayenne
Capsicum annuum
Dried fruit, powdered · hot · dispersing
A pinch that sends heat to the rim of the body.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Sharp heat, fruity-pepper, then a slow burn. A pinch in a cup is plenty.
Traditional use
A kitchen pepper used as medicine in pinches, not handfuls. Folk practice put cayenne in broths and honey for cold extremities, sluggish circulation, and a cold that would not break. The heat is the teaching. Capsaicin, used topically, was said to spend the pain-signal substance P.
In the cup
A scant pinch in hot broth, lemon-honey, or ginger tea. Never a heaping spoon. Culinary: bloom in oil at the start of a soup.
From the receipt book
Chest cloth
Cook 2 onions in butter until clear. Stir in 2 teaspoons cayenne and 4 tablespoons cinnamon. Spread on a warm cloth, apply to the chest 30 minutes, keep the person covered. An old congestion poultice — it will heat the skin.
Sore-throat spoon
1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic, 1 teaspoon cayenne, 3 teaspoons honey. Mix. Take by the spoon.
Heart tonic (folk cup)
Steep 2 teaspoons crushed rose petals in 1 cup water (boil, 3 minutes low, 30 minutes off heat). Strain. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon cayenne. Honey to taste. Spoonfuls, then refrigerate.
Blood
Bitter blood · bitter
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.
Read bitter bloodReached for
The promise
A careful hand
Some people, or a long pot, need extra care.
Burns the mouth and can inflame a tender stomach or hemorrhoids. Keep away from eyes. Not for children as a ‘medicine’ dose.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Fire· bitterGenerally safe
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Fire· bitterCaution
Garlic
Allium sativum
The house charm that also went into the broth.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Air· sourGenerally safe
Lemon
Citrus limon
The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.
Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat
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.