Onion
Allium cepa
Bulb · hot · moving
The everyday fire in the bin — broth, syrup, and a chest poultice.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Sweet-sulfur when cooked in honey or broth. Raw is a different heat.
Traditional use
Cooked onion was the first medicine of a poor kitchen. Folk syrup of onion and honey for a cough; roasted onion in cloth on the chest; broth at the first shiver.
In the cup
Sliced onion layered with honey, loose lid, a few hours; take a spoon of the syrup. Or simmer a whole onion in broth.
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
Who it feeds
The living bloom
The promise
A careful hand
Ordinary tea for a healthy adult.
Food. Raw onion burns a tender stomach. Honey-onion syrup is not for infants under one year (the honey).
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Garlic
Allium sativum
The house charm that also went into the broth.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · 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
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.