A mixture of raw honey, apple cider vinegar and herbs let stand to extract the medicinal properties out of the herbs.
Derived from the Greek oxymeli, which translates to “acid and honey”, oxymel use has been documented since the age of Hippocrates as a means to use and extract herbs that are not so pleasnt in flavour when taken through other methods. These herbs tend to be more pungent aromatics such as garlic and cayenne that also lend a supportive role for the immune and respiratory systems.
Both apple cider vinegar and raw honwy are common kitchen allies that can be used to help soothe the throat, calm a cough or bolster the immune system through colds and flu. Then combined with herbs that carry complimentary actions, oxymels offer a potent yet tasty support for times of sickness or compromised immunity.
In the words of Hippocrates, “You will find the drink, called oxymel, often very useful… for it promotes expectoration and freedom of breathing” (Hippocrates, 400 BCE).
The most famous oxymel is Fire Cider, which combines immune-stimulating and antimicrobial herbs with honey and vinegar to make a general tonic.
The raw vinegar, usually apple cider vinegar with the mother, helps to preserve the herbs, extracts their medicinal properties, and in some cases makes them more bio-available through fermentation.
Honey sweetens the mixture, making it more like a syrup, but it also extracts medicinal compounds from the herbs. As a bonus, honey is also anti-microbial and raw local honey helps combat seasonal allergies as well.
In Roman times, the rough ratio was 5 parts honey to 1 part vinegar.
These days, most herbalists opt for a more equal ratio. They use either 2 parts honey to 1 part vinegar or an even ratio as I do.
Mountain rose herbs suggest that oxymels will last about 6 months if kept in a cool dark place. Other herbalists suggest keeping oxymels in the refrigerator and using them within 2-3 months, while others say they’re good for years.
The shelf life is less about spoilage and more about how long the oxymel will retain potency. A mixture of vinegar and honey will only ferment to more vinegar, provided you’ve completely strained the herbal material there’s really nothing to spoil.
They’re most potent within 6 months, but I store them for a full year at cool room temperature (pantry, root cellar, etc) until I’m able to make another batch the following year. I haven’t noticed any drop in potency, at least personally.