The Spice Pantry: Queen of the Spices, Cardamon

By Crooked Bear Organics

Cardamom – The Queen of Spices

My favorite spice in the house!

Cardamom is the Queen of Spices and has grown lavishly under the tropical canopy on hillsides in the Ghat Mountains on the Malabar Coast of southern India to be harvested by hand and shipped around the world. The cardamom familiar to India and the western world is called green cardamom and it, along with several other types such as giant cardamom, black cardamom, and bastard cardamom, have been used for cooking, perfumery, incense, and medicine since very early in history.

cardamon flowers

Ancient Egyptians used it frequently for perfume along with frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia, and had a recipe for an ointment called “Oil of Lilies” that included the scent from 1000 lilies. It is often mentioned as one of the ingredients of the ancient incense kyphi. Cardamom essential oil is one of the oldest essential oils known in perfumery…

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The Spice Pantry: Clove

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Eugenia carpophyll Ata syn. Syzygium aromaticum

Also, Known As:

Clove

The association of the clove with human society is old indeed. The ancient Chinese Han dynasty – lasting from 207 B.C. to A.D. 220, gives us our first clue to the uses of the fragrant clove. Chinese physicians of that era wrote that the court visitors to the emperor were required to hold cloves in their mouths while they addressed the emperor, it would be reasonable to believe that this was to save the ruler from the bad breath of the visitors. The clove is a pungent and aromatic floral bud, and its use as a spice reached Europe around the 4th century A.D. when commercial trading really started with the Arabs who in turn acquired these dried and fragrant buds from the cultures to the east in Asia. The spice trade leading to great competition among European seafaring nations…

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Aromatic Culinary Herb Called the Savory

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Savory

Satureja hortensis / Satureja montana

Also, Known As:

Mountain Savory
Savory
Summer Savory
Winter Savory

Ancient herbal texts frequently mention about two types of savories – summer savory comprising the dense parts of the herb Satureja hortensis L., and the winter savory, which is acquired from the herb Satureja Montana L. While the summer savory is an annual plant, the winter savory is perennial and is used to add essence to foods. Both these aromatic species belong to the mint (Lamiaceae) plant family. They are small plants that are cultivated extensively as garden plants. These plants produce slender leaves and flowers whose color varies from pale lavender to pink to white. Of the two Satureja species, the summer savory is valued highly and has been used widely in folk medicine in comparison to the winter savory. Both these herbs have been valued as sex medicines for several centuries. It…

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Sacred Tree of India: Amla {Phyllanthus emblica}

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Amla
Indian Gooseberry

Amla (botanical name Phyllanthus Emblica) is an elegant ornamental tree, which usually grows up to a height of 60 feet (18 meters). In some rare cases, the tree may even be 100 feet (30 meters) tall. The bark of amla tree is somewhat smooth and has a light greyish-brown hue. Similar to the bark of guava, amla also peels off its bark in thin flakes. Although amla is a deciduous tree, which sheds its leaves and branches from time to time, the tree is rarely found completely bare. Hence, this tree is often described as an evergreen species. Amla trees bear tiny, oblong-shaped leaves that grow up to a length of anything between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch (1.25 cm and 2.0 cm) in length and they are just 1/8 inch (3 mm) broad. These miniature leaves are disposed of distichously (arranged alternately in…

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Medicinal Value of Tea Tree {Melaleuca alternifolia}

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Cajeput Tree
Melaleuca
Manuka
Tea Tree

The tea tree is not the common tea plant that produces both black and green tea. In fact, leaves of this tea tree are known as Melaleuca alternifolia and belong to the family Myrtaceae that has long been used by the aboriginals as an antiseptic. This tea tree was first discovered in 1770 when Captain James Cook dropped anchor off the coast of New South Wales and his sailors went aground and prepared a perfumed tea from the leaves of a tree growing in the marshy valley there. Because of the aromatic tea prepared by the sailors, it is called the tea tree and should not be mistaken to be the common tea plant.

In fact, the aboriginals residing in New South Wales used the volatile oil obtained from the leaves of the tea tree to heal scratches, burns, cuts, insect bites, athlete’s…

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Powerful Herbal Pain Relief

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the home of a gracious woman who deals in antiques. As I admired the many fine pieces displayed there, I came to realize that I, too, am something of a period piece a baby boomer who’s fundamentally sound but sporting the odd creaky hinge or two.

Fortunately, the herbal apothecary holds promise. Its medicines are good alternatives to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for chronic, mild to moderate aches and can reduce the need for prescription drugs.

More than 100 plants are known to have pain-relieving properties, but some are really outstanding. Reporting on herbal painkillers for arthritis, a review of clinical trials in the Clinical Journal of Pain says devil’s claw {Harpagophytum procumbens}, capsaicin from hot chiles {Capsicum spp.}, gamma-linolenic acid {GLA} from seed oils, and certain blended herbal extracts are especially good. Other studies indicate broader pain-relieving…

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Herb Guide: Bay Laurel

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Laurus nobilis

Also, Known As:

Bay Laurel
Sweet Bay

The herb known as the bay laurel or the sweet bay is native to Asia Minor and the Mediterranean region in general – it is a small evergreen shrub or tree. The early Greeks and Romans admired the bay laurel for its beauty and used the aromatic leaves in many different ways. Bay laurel possesses leathery leaves that are lanceolate and pointed in shape. The leaves also have the maximum oil content during early and mid-summer and this oil content tends to decrease in other seasons. The name “bay” is used to refer to several botanicals – for example, the West Indian bay – botanical name Pimenta racemosa, and the California bay – botanical name Umbellularia californica. Therefore, any of these plants can be called by the name “bay” in the existing herb literature; what is more, some other plants are…

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Power of The Seed

By Ancestral Apothecary

Self-care Sisterhood: Folk Medicine Making for Women of Color

By Ancestral Apothecary

What Is Oats {Avena sativa}

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Avena Sativa
Common Oats
Groats
Oats
Wild Oats

The plant-based cereals called the oats – botanical name: Avena sativa – is a very nutritious food and remedy. The oat is rich in protein, has lots of beneficial minerals such as calcium and magnesium, trace elements and potassium as well as iron – while also being very high in vitamin content. The presence of these bodybuilding nutrients in the oats makes for strong bones and teeth, most of these vital minerals found in the oats are also necessary for the maintenance of a healthy nervous system in a human being. Remedies made from the oats were traditionally used as a herbal nerve tonic; this tonic was given to patients to treat problems like depression, and mental debility as well as nervous exhaustion. Eating oats is a very good remedy when withdrawing from the effects of tranquilizers and antidepressant medications. The oats not only stimulates the body but also boosts energy levels up…

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