Savory

    Savory is known as the bean herb, for it not only augments the flavor of dried beans but also aids in their digestion and helps to prevent flatulence. Savory’s slight peppery flavor, fresh or dried, is also excellent in salads, soups, sausage, fish, and poultry. Crush savory leaves on a bee sting to reduce swelling and pain. Chew the leaves for sweetened breath and brew them as tea for relief of indigestion and fever.


Please click in the labels below for more foods with related medicinal benefits.

Cumin

            Feeling squeamish? Take cumin with your bread or wine, prescribes Pliny. Cumin is also supposed to induce pallid complexion, and Pliny tells of students to took cumin to achieve that “studious” look. This herbaceous annual is native to Egypt, but long ago spread to Mediterranean shores and is now cultivated worldwide. Cumin resembles caraway in appearance and taste – but it is more bitter. Widely used in Mexican chili powders and Indian curries, it can also be added to breads, cookies, rice, and creamed dishes for an interesting variation on the more familiar caraway flavor. Used for strengthening the digestion, cumin relieves flatulence and abdominal cramping.

Celery Seed

            This aromatic celery-tasting seed can be used to flavor soups and cream or cottage cheese. A tea made from the seeds (1 teaspoon to 1 cup boiling water) is said to be of therapeutic value in the treatment of rheumatism, flatulence, and to stimulate the appetite.