Fermented Herbal Tonics - Dandelion Rejuvelac Tonic

[juice]

Herbal tonics are extremely good for you. Why pay for pills at stores when nature provides you with tons of vitamins, minerals and nutrients for free, often right outside your door. Typically herbal tonics are consumed as teas or tinctures (alcohol or vinegar based), however there is another way to enjoy them, that is in many respects even better for you... FERMENTED!!!

Fermentation not only extracts much of the goodness from the plants, but the bacteria & yeasts also produce their own vitamins. A popular product in health food stores is Bio-Strath, and a simple read about how it is made reveals that the yeasts extract the goodies from the herbs.

I'm not going to discuss how to use fermentation to extract herbal medicines, but just to make a simple, yet powerful, tonic. Dandelions are everywhere and believe it or not (google it) the common weeds in your lawn are super nutritious. There are other great ones to explore (like stinging nettles, burdock, etc), but let's just focus upon this since virtually no one can say they don't have access to dandelions.

Pick young dandelion leaves (below I'll explain a special trick that most places don't teach you). You could simply roughly chop them up and toss them into brewing rejuvelac, however you could also use dried leaves, which in some respects I think works better faster. You could add just several leaves, or a cup full into a 2-quart jar. The more you add the more bitter your brew will taste, but the healthier it will be. I think it is important to first have an active rejuvelac going before adding the herb so that good bacteria are what saturates the herbs (I've not yet had a bad batch, but I've always started with active rejuvelac). Adding sugars helps the fermentation (more for yeasts) and you could drink it either with some sweetness left, or brew it until dry, whichever you prefer.

*** TRICK ***
Many herbal sources tell you to pick young dandelion leaves in the early-spring that are less bitter (they are all bitter, just less so - old ones are very very bitter). What do you do if it is not "early-spring"? You can do this anytime throughout the growing season. In an area of lawn heavily infested with dandelions (and chemical free of course) rip the plant out of the ground. Just grab the rosette of leaves and twist at the crown to rip it off. You could also use a steak knife to slice through the crown just at the ground. Compost these. This should leave all or most of the root behind. Soon, usually after a little rain (or watering) dandelions will regrow with lighter colored green leaves. Pick & eat them raw while still rather young. Just like with drinking rejuvelac it is an a taste that'll quickly grow on you.

*** ANOTHER TRICK ***
Pick the seeds from the dandelions (the white fluffy stuff) and you can grow it indoors in pots (preferably deep pots for roots) near a window. Sow lots of seeds close together and treat them like microgreens that you can harvest perpetually (cut leaves, don't pluck from soil).

Anyhow, enjoy this great tonic daily. Dandelion rejuvelac tonic is really worth making.

Blessed wishes,
Bluejay

[jpt120]

Hi,

Thanks for the info. Question for you, re: rejuvelac- does it matter what type of rejuvelac one uses, whether it is a water kefir or non-yeast brew made from whey only?