Most of us will be familiar with the stinging nettle
and can no doubt vividly recall the sudden stinging, numbing
sensation if you even so much as brush against this plant.
Nettles grow throughout the UK and are available most of the year
but the new spring growth is said to be the most nourishing.
The white, purple and yellow deadnettle
all mimic the shape of the leaves of stinging nettle but have no sting
and so, really, the best way to tell if you are dealing with nettle or not,
if you're not sure, is to see if the plant stings you!
There is a special way of picking the stinging nettle so that it doesn't hurt you
if you grasp the top young leaves from underneath the point
where they meet the stem very quickly and decisively
you can avoid breaking the hairs containing the stinging acid.
However, if you don't wish to take that risk,
wear rubber gloves to pick your nettles.
Shake them free of insects, wash them
and roughly chop with a pair of scissors.
Nettles are an excellent nutritive tonic
- they contain high levels of vitamin C, iron and other minerals
and can be used to treat anaemia (a lack of iron in the blood) and low vitality
It has also been found to be very useful
in treating asthma and chronic lung complaints.
Fresh nettle soup is very popular among foragers,
substituting nettles for spinach in the recipe
and that is certainly one good way to prepare them.
However, in this video,
we are going to show you how to make a nettle oxymel.
'Oxymel' comes from combining the two Greek words for 'acid' and 'honey'
and is a delicious way to take your medicine.
Fill a jam jar all the way to the top with your fresh nettles.
Pour apple cider vinegar over the nettles until they are completely covered.
Put a lid on your jar, label the contents including the date,
and leave in a warm spot for at least 2 weeks
and anywhere up to 6 weeks.
When they are ready, strain through a muslin cloth,
give the plant remains to the compost
and re-bottle your nettle vinegar.
This is excellent to use as it is - taking 1 tsp in a little water every day
or else as your salad dressing.
But to make this into an oxymel,
add the same amount of honey as you have nettle vinegar
- so, for example, if you have 100ml of nettle vinegar, add 100ml of honey
Gently heat them together so that they combine thoroughly,
then bottle and label and you will have a traditional treatment for asthma
or just a delicious multivitamin and mult-mineral daily supplement!