Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is the first cookbook to widely explore the culinary magic of fermentation."Fermentation has been an important journey of discovery for me," writes author Sandor Ellix Katz. "I invite you to join me along this effervescent path, well trodden for thousands of years yet largely forgotten in our time and place, bypassed by the superhighway of industrial food production."The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes-some familiar, others exotic-that are easy to make at home.The book covers vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and sour pickles; bean ferments including miso, tempeh, dosas, and idli; dairy ferments including yogurt, kefir, and basic cheesemaking (as well as vegan alternatives); sourdough bread-making; other grain fermentations from Cherokee, African, Japanese, and Russian traditions; extremely simple wine- and beer-making (as well as cider-, mead-, and champagne-making) techniques; and vinegar-making. With nearly 100 recipes, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fermentation cookbook ever published.

    35,000 first printing.

    Line drawings highlight family characteristics, and plant entries discuss medicinal uses, edibility, toxicity, and look-alike plants. A standard reference at herbal and wilderness schools across the country, this resource is essential for herbalists, gardeners, and naturalists.

    Readers who appreciate the health-giving properties of herbal medicines but are discouraged by the high price of commercial products can now make their own preparations for a fraction of the cost. The authors tell you everything you need to know about harvesting, preparing, and administering herbs in many different forms, including fresh, bulk dried herbs, capsules, extracts in water, alcohol, glycerin, vinegar and oil, and even preparations like essential oils and flower essences. The book also covers topical applications of herbs as salves, lotions, poultices, tooth powders, ear drops, and more, and includes an extensive chapter on herbal hydrotherapy. "The Modern Herbal Dispensary "explains why different preparations of the same herb will obtain better results, demonstrating how capsules, teas, tinctures, or glycerites of the same plant will not have exactly the same effect on the body. Leading herbalists Thomas Easley and Steven Horne have tested and proven the herbal formulas they offer, along with suggestions for treating more than one hundred illnesses. They lay out the principles of herbal formulation and also provide instructions on how to prepare single herbs, a procedure that has been largely ignored in other references. More comprehensive than any other guide, thoroughly researched, beautifully illustrated, and presented with ease of use in mind, this book will take its place as the premier reference for those who want to produce all the herbal remedies they need, and to save money in the process. Table of Contents Introduction--Results: The Name of the Game Chapter One--Preparations and Applications: Understanding the Many Ways of Preparing and Using Herbs Chapter Two--Fresh Herbs: Growing, Harvesting, and Using Fresh Plants Chapter Three--Dried Herbs: Using Bulk Herbs, Capsules, and Tablets Chapter Four--Extracting Herbs: Equipment, Raw Materials, and Potency Chapter Five--Liquid Preparations: Basic Extraction Techniques for Water, Alcohol, Glycerin, and Oil Chapter Six--Topical Preparations: Making Liniments, Lotions, Butters, Balms, and Salves Chapter Seven--Herbal Hydrotherapy: Healing with Enemas, Douches, Baths, and Soaks Chapter Eight--Advanced Techniques: Percolation Extracts, Dried Extracts, and Chinese Methods Chapter Nine--Aromatherapy and Homeopathy: Essential Oils, Homeopathic Preparations, and Flower Essences Chapter Ten--Formulas and Dosages: Creating Formulas and Determining How Much to Take Resources, Part One--Sample Formulas Resources, Part Two--Single Herbs Appendix One: Herbal Constituents and Solvents Appendix Two: Sources for Materials"

    Each monthly section discusses one herb in detail -- how and where it grows and what it does -- and presents recipes for simple teas, lotions, and foods, along with rituals appropriate to the season that can bring your life back into harmony with the moods of nature. Even in the city, the constant presence of the natural world and the use of herbs can be a touchstone to lead both body and soul back to a natural cadence.

    In Healing Herbal Teas, master herbalist and author Sarah Farr serves up 101 original recipes that not only offer health advantages but also taste great. Formulations to benefit each body system and promote well-being include Daily Adrenal Support, Inflammation Reduction, and Digestive Tonic. Additional recipes that address seasonal needs such as allergy relief or immune support will attune you to the cycles of nature, while instruction on the art of tea blending will teach you how to develop your own signature mixtures to give your body exactly what it needs. This book is an enchanting and delectable guide to blending and brewing power-packed herbal teas at home.

    "The New Age Herbalist" is a compendium of healthy alternatives, an indispensable guide for contemporary natural living. Created by a team of experts, it offers: A full-color illustrated glossary of more than 200 herbs, describing their properties, active ingredients, and traditional uses around the worldA guide to using herbs for scent, for decoration, and even as chemical-free housekeeping aidsTips on using herbs for skin care and beauty, by making natural shampoos, lotions, soaps, and cosmeticsA review of culinary herbs, with some unusual recipes that use familiar herbs in delightful new waysAn examination of the growing science of herbal healing, discussing herbal remedies -- including stress relievers -- and the scientific research that validates themA complete herb gardening plan, with advice on choosing symbiotic herbs, designing and scheduling plantings, and preserving the harvest by freezing and dryingFascinating, authoritative, packed with information presented in a stunning visual style, "The New Age Herbalist" will be the home herb user's bible for years to come.

    Revealing the enormous potential of herbs, this sourcebook includes information on planting, growing, and harvesting herbs, as well as the main uses of herbs. It also offers an exhaustive identification guide, recipes, ideas for gifts, and much more.

    

    In this greatly expanded revised and enlarged edition, the book covers the entire range of medicinal herbs found in New Mexico, Arizona, west Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and California.

    Stephanie Tourles shows you how to use fruit, flowers, herbs, and minerals to craft healthy products that promote radiant skin, strong nails, shiny hair, and an elevated mood. Pamper yourself from head to toe with products like Strawberry Cleanser, Pineapple Sunflower Scrub, and Almond Rose Body Lotion. Gentle on your skin and free of harsh chemicals found in commercial products, you’ll want to indulge yourself over and over with these luxuriously aromatic bath blends, face masks, and body scrubs.

    This excellent guide is the work of a team of highly qualified botanical and medical experts, including two of my colleagues from the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. It offers reliable, up-to-date, practical information about 72 of the most important medicinal herbs." --Andrew Weil, M.D., from the ForewordThere is a world of health and healing all around you--in your spice rack, your backyard, and on the shelves of health food and grocery stores. This informative guide is a reference you will keep at the ready, connecting 72 of the world's most common and useful medicinal herbs with the body systems they help and heal.Eight chapters focus on body systems: 1. Mental Health & the Nervous System2. Respiratory System3. Heart & Circulation4. Digestive System5. Joints, Muscles & Skin6. Urinary & Male Health7. Female Health8. Wellness & PerceptionEach chapter begins with an overview of how plants can bring health to that part of the body, with stories about traditional herbal remedies from around the world and current scientific findings on herbal remedies for specific illnesses. Then each chapter highlights nine plants, combining botanical and medical information--therapeutic uses, effectiveness, preparations, cautions, and advice, including a round-up of current science about the active ingredients in the plant. Every chapter includes a photo gallery showing how one of its herbs is cultivated and processed commercially--the story behind the contents of that bottle you buy in the store. Special features include "Over the Kitchen Counter"--quick and easy ways to use herbs in your everyday life, and time lines for every herb, showing how today's use of herbal remedies collects wisdom from the centuries and around the world. A functional appendix includes an illustrated index to all the plants in the book, an ailment-by-ailment therapeutic index, a glossary, and an index.

    Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley. Gin was born from a conifer shrub when a Dutch physician added oil of juniper to a clear spirit, believing that juniper berries would cure kidney disorders. "The Drunken Botanist" uncovers the enlightening botanical history and the fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even one fungus).Some of the most extraordinary and obscure plants have been fermented and distilled, and they each represent a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history. Molasses was an essential ingredient in American independence: when the British forced the colonies to buy British (not French) molasses for their New World rum-making, the settlers outrage kindled the American Revolution. Rye, which turns up in countless spirits, is vulnerable to ergot, which contains a precursor to LSD, and some historians have speculated that the Salem witch trials occurred because girls poisoned by ergot had seizures that made townspeople think they d been bewitched. Then there's the tale of the thirty-year court battle that took place over the trademarking of Angostura bitters, which may or may not actually contain bark from the Angostura tree.With a delightful two-color vintage-style interior, over fifty drink recipes, growing tips for gardeners, and advice that carries Stewart's trademark wit, this is the perfect gift for gardeners and cocktail aficionados alike.

    In fact, the origins of brewing involve a whole galaxy of wild and cultivated plants, fruits, berries, and other natural materials, which were once used to make a whole spectrum of creative, fermented drinks.Now fermentation fans and home brewers can rediscover these “primitive” drinks and their unique flavors in The Wildcrafting Brewer. Wild-plant expert and forager Pascal Baudar’s first book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for readers wishing to explore and capture the flavors of their local terroir. The Wildcrafting Brewer does the same for fermented drinks. Baudar reveals both the underlying philosophy and the practical techniques for making your own delicious concoctions, from simple wild sodas, to non-grape-based “country wines,” to primitive herbal beers, meads, and traditional ethnic ferments like tiswin and kvass.The book opens with a retrospective of plant-based brewing and ancient beers. The author then goes on to describe both hot and cold brewing methods and provides lots of interesting recipes; mugwort beer, horehound beer, and manzanita cider are just a few of the many drinks represented. Baudar is quick to point out that these recipes serve mainly as a touchstone for readers, who can then use the information and techniques he provides to create their own brews, using their own local ingredients.The Wildcrafting Brewer will attract herbalists, foragers, natural-foodies, and chefs alike with the author’s playful and relaxed philosophy. Readers will find themselves surprised by how easy making your own natural drinks can be, and will be inspired, again, by the abundance of nature all around them.

    Herbal Medicine for Beginners shows you how to use a few important herbs to promote the body’s ability to fight infection and heal naturally.Herbal Medicine for Beginners shows herbalists-in-training how to use a limited number of versatile, medicinal herbs to craft herbal remedies for common ailments. From allergies to fevers to headaches, beginners will gain the essential knowledge they need to blossom into natural healers and practice herbal medicine.Herbal Medicine for Beginners teaches you how to use herbs as preventative and restorative medicine with: Herbal Medicine 101 provides step-by-step instruction on how to shop for, make, and apply herbal medicine effectively Profiles on Popular Herbs teach you how to choose the right herbs for your herbal medicine collection 100 Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments with easy-to-follow instructions to safely make remedies at home Learn how to detox with dandelion, beat stress with linden, soothe burns with marshmallow and much more with remedies for common ailments in Herbal Medicine for Beginners.