Mostly spicy with a hint of sweetness, bee balm can be added to all sorts of dishes to give it a special local flavoring.īut don’t let the words “culinary spice” fool you. Move Over Thyme, North America Has its Own Powerful Native Spiceīee balm is called by many names – sweet leaf, wild bergamot, horsemint, wild oregano, and oswego tea being a few examples – but all refer to the Monarda genus.Įndemic to North America and easily grown in the garden, this is one of our very own native culinary spices. First let’s learn a little more about this spicy plant. What’s an oxymel? I’ll go into that in a bit. That gave me the idea to make this into an oxymel preparation. Past experience has shown me it is far better to have herbal preparations made in advance, rather than try to make them while sick. Where I live up north, the seasons are changing and I am preparing for the cold and flu season. I adore it as a tea and it makes an incredibly delicious infused honey and a spicy vinegar to enjoy on salads. I planted bee balm seeds a couple of years ago and this summer they grew into a bush almost taller than me! It seemed quite fitting that it really blossomed out this year since it is our featured herb on HerbMentor.īecause I had such an abundance of it this year, I took the opportunity to make a variety of different herbal preparations with it. I just harvested the last of my abundant bee balm today.
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