Herbal Electuaries: What They Are & How to Make Them

We’ve been celebrating the healing properties of honey for what feels like all of human history. After all, the first record of beekeeping dates back to ancient Egypt around 3,500 BCE and it’s estimated that humans collected honey from wild hives long before then.

In other words, we’ve been using honey as food and medicine for nearly 9,000 years!! Because of its deep significance and impressive health benefits, numerous cultures around the world believed that honey was a sacred gift from the gods. Eventually, ancient Arabs began using honey to preserve their medicinal herbs for use throughout the rest of the year. In India, practitioners of the Ayurvedic tradition infused honey with herbs to help remedy weak digestion, heal wounds, balance the doshas, soothe the respiratory tract and more. 

This potent combination of herbs and honey is known as an herbal electuary. On its own, raw honey is extremely health-giving, acting as an antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immune system booster (especially for allergies!) and a source of a myriad of minerals and enzymes. Now add some medicinal herbs to the equation and you’ve got a deeply healing tonic for any number of ailments – depending on the plants you choose to include. 

The Ultimate Benefits of Electuaries

While there are plenty of delightful herbs like rose, lavender, hibiscus, chamomile and mint (to name a few), some of the most therapeutic herbs can taste pretty awful on their own. We’re looking at you, mugwort. Fortunately, honey is one of the most naturally delicious things on this planet and can disguise these less than enjoyable yet supremely beneficial herbs shockingly well. So if you’re looking to get all of the juicy benefits of herbal medicine but can’t stomach their “herby” flavor, electuaries are for you! 

How to Use an Herbal Electuary

• Drizzle it on top of your pancakes, oatmeal, toast, muffins, smoothie bowls, etc
• Bake with it! 
• Add a spoonful to your tea, coffee or milk
• Use it in salad dressings and marinades
• Sweeten your mocktails and cocktails
• Eat it right off the spoon (pre-workout, anyone!?)

Warming Herbal Electuary Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• ½ tsp ginger
• ½  tsp cardamom
• ¼ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 oz raw honey

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix until you get a well-combined paste.  
2. Pour into a clean jar and cap tightly. 

*note: like honey, electuaries have an extremely long shelf life!