{"id":5497,"date":"2020-06-18T01:56:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T01:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wintergreenbotanicals.com\/?p=5497"},"modified":"2025-01-09T13:43:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T13:43:35","slug":"cooling-herbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wintergreenbotanicals.com\/2020\/06\/18\/cooling-herbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooling Herbs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n

For Summertime Heat ~ <\/h3>\n
As the days heat up this season, look to cooling herbs and herbal preparations to chill out and keep cool.<\/p>\n

The Energetics of Summer Heat<\/h2>\n

In herbal medicine, we often categorize herbs, conditions, people, and seasons by their \u201cenergetics,\u201d such as hot, cold, dry, and damp. (I wrote an overview of energetics in the Summer 2017 issue.) It makes sense that summer would be associated with \u201cheat.\u201d The energetics of a season can exacerbate the energetics of a particular person or condition, especially if they\u2019re similar. You probably know \u201ccold people\u201d who adore warm temps and dread winter and \u201chot people\u201d who get agitated when the mercury rises past 70 degrees. Heat is traditionally associated with excessive and hyper body functions, redness, flushing, inflammation, feeling hot to the touch, agitation, anger, and frustration. Whether summer\u2019s heat coincides with dampness or dryness will depend on your ecosystem, which can further exacerbate your own energetics. For example, my \u201chot damp\u201d mom has a meltdown in our humid New England summers but does just fine at higher temps in the arid Southwest.<\/p>\n

But in Traditional Chinese medicine, \u201csummer heat\u201d gets a category of energetics all its own beyond simple \u201cheat.\u201d Once temperatures reache a certain point, almost everyone\u2019s<\/em> energetics get overwhelmed by that heat. Sweltering summer bogs us down making us exhausted, overwhelmed, heavy, and irritable, especially mid-day. Elders and children tend to be particularly susceptible, especially if they don\u2019t have access to air condition or a plunge into cool water. People who live in consistently hot climates have adapted to the heat by taking siestas and relying on cooling herbs.<\/p>\n

Enter Cooling Herbs<\/h2>\n

Herbs and remedies that are energetically cooling (and often hydrating) help us cope better with rising temps and find relief from its irritating, exhausting effects.<\/p>\n

First, consider the remedy format or delivery system. Now is not<\/em> the time for a steaming hot bowl of broth, soup, or tea. Cooling herbal remedies are often cold to cool in temperature, water based, and sometimes sweet, tart, or sweet-tart in flavor. Think of honey\/maple\/sugar-vinegar\/citrus blends like oxymels, switchel, or shrubs in cold fizzy water as well as lemonade, lime-ade, sweetened hibiscus tea, frozen Slushies, Popsicles, margaritas, gin and tonics, and mojitos.<\/p>\n

As far as the herbs themselves go, our most energetically cooling and \u201crefrigerant\u201d herbs and foods tend to be to fall into a couple flavor categories.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sour<\/strong>: lemon, lime, lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon verbena, hibiscus, berries, sorrel (especially refreshing if sweetened lightly)<\/li>\n
  2. Sweet<\/strong>: Korean licorice mint or anise hyssop (Agastache<\/em>), fennel, fruit like peaches, peach leaf and twig, crabapple\/apple twig, a little honey, sugar, or maple syrup<\/li>\n
  3. Melon-y<\/strong>: watermelon, cucumber slices, cantaloupe, also meadowsweet, violet, and salad burnet have a hint of sweetness from their low levels of wintergreen-y methyl salicylate that\u2019s amazing in infused cold water (tasting surprisingly like peach or melon rather than wintergreen)<\/li>\n
  4. Minty<\/strong>: spearmint, apple mint, banana mint (peppermint might be too warming)<\/li>\n
  5. Green<\/strong>: crispy mild lettuce, parsley, chickweed, violet leaf, miners lettuce, nettle (cook, puree, then\u00a0 freeze nettle to remove their peppery sting – great frozen in ice cube trays for. later use)<\/li>\n
  6. Lightly Astringent<\/strong>: green or black tea, linden, rose-family herbs like rose blossoms and lady\u2019s mantle (especially cooling if iced)<\/li>\n
  7. Moistening<\/strong>: especially when it\u2019s hot and dry, mucilaginous drinks made with marshmallow or oat served cold and lightly sweetened can be pleasantly refreshing and even more hydrating than water<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Cooling Herbs & Recipes<\/h2>\n

    Iced Tea<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Iced Tea Recipe #1: <\/strong>This method is simple but requires pre-planning. Brew your tea as your normally would, pop it in the fridge til it cools, then serve over ice. Tea keeps in the fridge for one to two days.<\/p>\n

    Iced Tea Recipe #2:<\/strong> For those who forgot to plan ahead or prefer their tea freshly brewed (it\u2019s tastier!), brew your tea at double-strength, then strain and pour over ice. Choose your vessel carefully because most will break when exposed simultaneously to the dramatic shifts in temperature of ice and hot water. Stainless steel is the safest. Solid tempered glass might<\/em> hold up. Pour over in the sink, just in case. Do not<\/em> do this with regular glass jars and pitchers nor ceramic.<\/p>\n

    Iced Tea Herbs<\/strong>: Green tea, black tea, lady\u2019s mantle, hibiscus (classic sweetened in Mexico and Central America!), lemon, lemongrass, lemon balm, Korean licorice mint\/anise hyssop, mint, violet leaf, marshmallow leaf<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Cold-Infused Water, Seltzer & Soda<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    This is delightful with flavorful fresh herbs from the garden! Cold water makes a light extract primarily of an herb\u2019s aromatics with a hint of sweet. It lacks the potency and diversity of constituents of a hot tea, but it\u2019s also more refreshing. Simply add a few fresh sprigs of tasty herbs to cold water in a container that keeps them submerged and sip after 20 minutes or within the day. Lightly sweeten to make them more refreshing and hydrating.<\/p>\n

    Cold-Infused Water Herbs<\/strong>: roses (let them steep for several hours), meadowsweet, violet leaf, salad burnet, holy basil, mint, Korean licorice mint\/anise hyssop, plus some flowers for beauty<\/p>\n

    Seltzer & Soda Herbs<\/strong>: lemongrass, lemon verbena (with vanilla extract, this tastes like lemon cake), Korean licorice mint\/anise hyssop (with vanilla extract this tastes like root beer), mint, lime or lemon wedges, fennel fronds<\/p>\n

    Smoothies & Juices<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Herbs plus fruit and\/or ice tea make fabulous refreshing drinks! Add a handful of pleasant-tasting \u201cgreen\u201d herbs to your smoothies or juice plus a bit of your sour or sweet herbs.<\/p>\n

    Herbs to Juice and Blend<\/strong>: Parsley, violet leaf, nettle (steamed or blanched, then frozen), or chickweed help make a nice base for green drinks. Then add some flavorful herbs such as lemongrass (really yummy with pineapple, orange and\/or carrot juice), apple mint (lovely with lime, greens, peaches or berries), or Korean licorice mint\/anise hyssop\/fennel (for sweet-licorice notes). Also consider using iced green or hibiscus tea in place of water\u2026 or really any iced herbal tea you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

    Herbal Ice Cubes and Pops<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n

    Freezing pureed herbs, smoothies, juices, and brewed tea in ice cube trays or ice pop molds to add to drinks or suck on when the days get hot.<\/p>\n

    Herbs to Freeze<\/strong>: Sweetened (with sweetener or blended with sweet-tasting fruits) hibiscus, lemongrass, apple mint\/spearmint, Korean licorice mint\/anise hyssop\/fennel, or cold-infused rose petals would be fabulous.<\/p>\n

    Perfect pairings to consider:<\/p>\n