When you have a large crop of herbs from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it. You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.
Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple! Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve the toothache plant:
- Chew it. The numbing action that gives the toothache plant its name is best accessed by picking one of the flowers and chewing it directly.
- Add it to soups and broths.
- Add it to salads.
- Make an herbal vinegar. Toothache plant flowers can be infused in vinegar alone or with other herbs such as lemon balm or peppermint. The resulting infused vinegar makes a great salad dressing or dressing base.
- Make a tea or add it to a tea blend. Toothache plant flowers are best in an infusion.
- Make a tincture. The toothache plant's analgesic properties are most effective when ingested by chewing one of its flowers. But the next best way is by tincturing the fresh flowers, so this can be a fairly effective way to save them for later use. An herb:solvent weight ratio of 1:2 at 95% alcohol is suggested for a fresh toothache plant flower tincture.
- Dry it. Dried toothache plant flowers are not as potent as fresh ones, but drying is still an effective way to preserve some of the benefits for later. See our How to Dry Your Herbs article here for more information.
Further Reading
Growing the toothache plant? Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.
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