Recently, I came across a passage in Green’s The Herbal Medicine-Makers Handbook that had me laughing
and grinning from ear to ear. It was the
opening of his chapter on Herbal Jell-O. Not only were his descriptions amusing, but I
loved the depiction of the emotional process he went through as he found
opportunity in his initial failure. His
musing is relatable and his discovery is inspiring! Herbal Jell-O – why aren’t more people doing
this?
This discovery stemmed from a blunder of mine that involved a
particularly precious tincture of primo-wildcrafted Oregon Grape root (OGR). The
simple pharmaceutical event was supposed to culminate in a manifestation of
many, perfectly molded glycerated-gelatin suppositories, but instead, ended up
as an unintended mass of OGR jello.
Momentarily deranged by my frustration and self-pity (I was racing
toward a publishing deadline at this time), I lost control. In my mindless anguish, I took a spoon to it
all, slashing and scooping at it blindly as I cried out, “Why Me!? Why now?!
Why all that glycerin!? Why my finest OGR tincture!?
Immediately following the gelatal carnage, as I stood at the kitchen
counter, bewildered, remorseful, emotionally spent, questioning the meaning of
life and the purpose of a man’s toil on earth, gazing aimlessly at the sordid
glycerated remains, the empty tincture bottle laying on its side, the soiled
beakers, I ate a spoonful of the still quivering blunder…and behold…I was
instantly uplifted! It was fun, like
eating jello always is (even for those cranky adults who won’t admit it). And
it tasted…”all right!” which OGR tincture never does (Green, 2000).
I decided to concoct a Willow bark (Salix alba) Jell-O. My
client has painful joints, but he loves to work out and has concerns about the
chronic side-effects of taking his prescription anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving pills. He’s found some relief in Turmeric, but I
have been wanting to observe the analgesic (pain relieving) effects of Willow’s
salicin and other beneficial constituents on my picky participant. My biggest
obstacle thus far has been inducing his spirit of cooperation! I’ve made Willow bark decoctions for him to
put in his coffee, which he didn’t mind, but it’s not been easy for him to
continue with this on a regular basis.
Willow Jell-O: The
solution to my dilemma, found. Next, I
had to figure out which Jell-O flavor to use.
At first, I thought Lemon-Lime, but then I envisioned the color that would
result. Willow decoctions are a gorgeous
red color, and mixing that with green Jell-O would probably be gross looking
enough that said participant wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot-pole. Then, I thought, Cherry! Cherry is perfect. Cherry it is.
For the Willow Jell-O, I measured 6 grams of Willow bark and
4 cups of water. I put the bark in a
pot, poured the water in, and let the bark swim around for 30 minutes. Then, I brought the water/bark to a boil,
lowered the heat, and simmered for 30 minutes.
I strained twice, then measured two separate cups of Willow
decoction. One cup, I put in the freezer
to cool. The other, I put back into the
pot to bring to a boil after the other cup cooled.
Green says to use only ¼ of the Jell-O package (Green, 2000), but I went ahead
and followed the directions on the Jell-O box.
The Jell-O says to mix the powder with one cup of boiling water (in my
case, I used boiling Willow decoction) until the powder is dissolved, then add
one cup of cold water (in my case, cold Willow decoction!), and let sit. This is what I did, and it turned out
beautifully, if I do say so myself…
…But don’t take my
word for it! After my Jell-o’s photo
shoot, I delivered the jiggling red beaut over to my client, who grabbed a
spoon, scooped it into his mouth, shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, “Tastes
like Jell-O.” L…O…L.
This is a fun way to deliver phytochemicals to people. It is particularly useful for those who would benefit from the medicinal properties of certain plants, but do not care for the taste. Incorporating herbal foods into one’s diet
for medicine might muddy up dosing strategies, but I suspect that the more
herbal foods one eats on a regular basis, the less one would have to employ
herbs medicinally with strict dosing regimens.
I recommend to everyone the incorporation of more phytochemicals into
the diet. Jell-O is not only awesome,
but it is also a fun place to start consuming more medicinal plant benefits!
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