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The History Of The Electuary
Electuaries have been used for centuries as a delivery method for medical plants. The phrase “a spoonful of sugar * cough * honey, makes the medicine go down”, couldn’t be more true in terms of electuaries.
The electuary itself is not a new thing, but a very ancient way of preparing plants to help bring balance back into the body. The word itself most likely stems from the Greek word “ekleikhein” which means “medicine which is licked away”.
So what exactly is an electuary? Electuaries are made up of freshly powdered herbs mixed with raw honey. Since raw honey itself is shelf stable, this method of preparing and preserving herbs is considered shelf stable and will not lose its potency over time. In many traditional practices electuaries may also include things like sugar, wine/alcohol extracts, juice, ghee, dried fruit and so much more.
Electuaries are a method of whole-plant medicine, which means that you are consuming the whole plant and not just a singular chemical component of each plant separately like how many of the modern medicines are derived. Electuaries are a synergistic creation, the honey and herbs together are far greater than they would be apart.
You can eat them by the spoonful, use them to make a drink, add it to your morning coffee, spread on it toast or use it in a baked good.