Before pharmacies existed, every village house had its own pantry. Digestive tinctures, cough syrups, winter jams, and salves for “everything that hurts.” We’ve gathered these recipes just as they were passed down by herbalists and grandmothers — step by step, without shortcuts. You can find complete versions of all the recipes in the app, in the Book of Knowledge → Grandma's Recipes.
St. John's Wort Tincture — “St. John's Blood”
Pour 500 ml of 70% alcohol over two cups of flowering tops of St. John's wort (collected at noon on a sunny day). Keep it in the dark for three weeks, shaking it every two days — the tincture will take on a ruby color, formerly called “St. John's Blood.” Strain and let it mature for two weeks. Use 15–20 drops in water “for sadness and stomach issues.” Note: St. John's wort interacts with many medications and causes sun sensitivity.
Elderflower Syrup
Layer 30–40 flower clusters (collected before noon, unwashed!) in a jar with slices of two lemons. Pour over with cooled syrup made from 1 kg of sugar and a liter of water. After 48–72 hours, strain, boil with a teaspoon of citric acid, and pour into sterilized bottles. A tablespoon in hot water worked “for fever and cough” — without holdovers. Remember: before picking elderflowers, grandmothers would bow to the bush — “spirits of ancestors dwell under the elder.”
Plum Jam — A Three-Day Ritual
5 kg of ripe, pitted plums are cooked without sugar over low heat for 2–3 hours a day for three days, stirring with a wooden spoon — slowly, in one direction, “so the good doesn’t turn back in the house.” On the third day, the mixture is nearly black and so thick that a spoon stands in it. Pour hot jam into sterilized jars and process for 20 minutes.
Calendula Salve with Lard
Heat two handfuls of calendula flowers in 250 g of melted lard for 15 minutes (it should barely flicker, not fry). Cover for 24 hours, reheat, strain into jars, and keep in the fridge. For chapped hands, rashes, and cracked heels. “What calendula won't heal, nothing will heal,” grandmothers used to say.
Comfrey Salve — “The Herb for Healing Bones”
Heat 100 g of grated comfrey root (dug up after the first frosts) in lard for 20 minutes, let sit overnight, and strain. For external use only — for bruises, joints, and “sprained” ankles. Comfrey should not be taken orally.
The Four Thieves Vinegar, Garlic Honey, and Onion Syrup
Three classics of a protective pantry: Four Thieves Vinegar (sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint, and garlic macerated in apple cider vinegar for 2–4 weeks — a legendary protection “in times of plague”), Garlic Honey (2 heads of garlic in 250 g of honey for a week — a teaspoon daily from October to March), and the oldest Polish “syrup”: Onion with Sugar, left overnight, served by the teaspoon for cough.
Where to Find Full Recipes?
In the Ezostylia app, in the Book of Knowledge, a new tab “Grandma's Recipes” awaits — 12 complete step-by-step recipes (liquors, syrups, jams, rose jam, salves, poultices) along with interesting herbalist insights. Also, check out our article on herbs of herbalists with authentic photos.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (public domain / CC). Recipes: records of the folk tradition of Podlasie and Polish village.