Wow, this month has sped by so quickly and my chamomile plants have produced so many lovely little fragrant flowers.  I learned something new this year in my garden too, the really large bushy “chamomile” plants in my garden turned out to be someone else entirely - dog fennel also known as stinking chamomile.  The smell is what really gave it away.  Instead of a sweet apple-like scent, it stank of bitterness.  It’s always good to learn something new.  I’m glad I didn’t need to learn this one the hard way, it was very apparent.  But, this is a good lesson in proper plant identification.  Use all your senses!

Speaking of using one’s senses, do be sure to check in with yourself to be sure you are not allergic to chamomile.  It’s not all that common, but some people are allergic to this plant.  Before you start bathing yourself inside and out with chamomile, make sure it doesn’t cause you any unpleasant or uncomfortable symptoms.  The same can be said for all herbs!

Okay, on to recipes.  We know that chamomile shines as a tea, so we will start here: 

Chamomile as a pleasant beverage tea: 

When you use a little tea bag of chamomile you will enjoy an aromatic, golden, and gentle hot beverage.  You can accentuate this by working with loose dry flowers and adding 1 Tbsp to 8oz of hot water, covering your container, and letting steep for 5-10 minutes.  We want to cover the cup to allow the heat to extract all the essential oils from the plant into the water.  Then you can breathe in the steam as you sip.  A lot of the medicinal actions of chamomile can be found in the essential oils, but you don’t need to distill those oils to get that effect.  If your chamomile smells like chamomile, you know they are still in the plant material itself!

Chamomile as a medicinal tea: 

Chamomile as a medicinal tea will have a more bitter flavor and be a richer amber color.  The bitterness is far less than something like wormwood or chard, but is still there.  That bitterness lets you know that more of the plant’s medicinal properties are now in the liquid you are drinking.  Rich in flavonoids, essential oils, minerals, mucopolysaccharides, and some salicylic acid, this medicinal tea has many more and deeper reaching benefits than a beverage tea.  This tea will be calming, pain reducing, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, relieve intestinal gas, reduce spasms, and heal tissues.  That’s a lot of medicine in a tiny little flower bud!

To make a medicinal strength tea, there are a few methods, but my favorite is the quart jar method: 

Ingredients and tools:

• 1 cup chamomile flowers

• 1 quart mason jar with two part lid

• Boiling water

• Chopstick or spoon for stirring

Directions:

1. Add your chamomile flowers to your mason jar

2. Pour boiling water over the flowers to fill the jar

3. Wait a couple of minutes

4. Give the contents a stir

5. Top off with water

6. Seal with the lid (not too tight)

7. Let sit on your counter for 4-8 hours

8. Strain and enjoy 1 cup at a time warm or cold.

Chamomile tea popsicles: 

Now that you know how to make tea, you can create a soothing treat for yourself or your kiddos.  I find these especially helpful for teething littles or to soothe irritated tissues in the mouth or throat.  If you don’t have popsicle molds, ice cubes work well as does a washcloth dipped in the tea and frozen for those teething littles.  I find this actually works much better than rubbing whiskey on the gums which also helps but the effects don’t last nearly as long. 

Ingredients and tools: 

• Popsicle mold

• Medicinal chamomile tea

• Honey or juice (no honey for children under 1 year of age due to risk of botulism)

• Freezer

Directions: 

1. Mix chamomile tea with honey or juice to desired sweetness

2. Add mixture to your molds and add the tops 

3. Allow to freeze until solid

4. Carefully remove from mold (run under hot water to loosen if needed)

5. Enjoy

Chamomile & Catnip bath: 

Well, that’s gonna be a big tea bag isn’t it?  Yep, you are going to stuff chamomile flowers in a sock, tie it closed and throw it in your bathtub while it fills with warm water.  Let that sock float around and pick it up to dab at areas of irritated skin or use as an eye bag as you relax. 

Taking a bath in tea may seem a bit silly or overindulgent, but it’s a great way to expose your skin to healing herbs.  It’s the same idea as an oatmeal bath, but you can work with different plants.  This is great for people of all ages, but I find it particularly helpful for little ones who are dealing with colic. 

Both Chamomile and Catnip have fantastic antispasmodic, calming, and anti-gas qualities, but it’s a bit difficult to get an infant to drink tea isn’t it?  Here is how I counsel my families to calm their baby and get some much needed rest for everyone: 

1. Make a medicinal strength tea of chamomile blossoms and catnip leaf (½ cup of each in your 1-quart mason jar).

2. Have the nursing parent drink a cup or two of the tea as some of the medicine will pass on through the breast milk.  If you aren’t nursing, replace 1/8th of the water used to make formula with the tea. 

3. Pour the remainder of the tea into a bathing basin and fill with warm water

4. Bathe baby in this calming tea bath.  

Chamomile Compress/Poultice: 

Chamomile’s relaxing and healing qualities are great inside and out.  If you don’t have the time, space, or inclination to take a hot chamomile bath, you can use a poultice or compress to deliver a mini bath just to the areas you need help with.  

For a compress, simply fill a sock, rag, paper towel, or muslin bag with enough flowers to cover the area you need it, close off with a rubber band and dip your bundle in warm water.  Then apply to the area that needs some soothing.  Leave in place until cool to the touch and repeat as needed.

For a poultice, simply mix chamomile flowers with water and some ground flax seeds to form a paste.  Spread this directly on your skin or on one side of a rag, cloth, or paper towel and apply herb side down on your skin.  Leave in place until dry. 

Cooking with Chamomile: 

You can eat chamomile too!  You will want to work with the fresh flowers for this.  The great thing about eating your herbs is that you don’t have to worry about how best to extract the medicinal qualities, they are all there and now in you!

Adding chamomile and lavender blossoms to a shortbread cookie recipe is divine.  They work well in many different dessert recipes.  

You can also throw a handful of blossoms into a smoothie or soup.  

Use chamomile, calendula, dandelion, violets, and/or hibiscus flowers to decorate cakes or in ice cube trays to add a splash of color to your beverages.  

Sprinkle your salad with chamomile blossoms. 

Get creative and have fun!  

To our health!