How to make 'Strong Bones Vinegar'

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is a herb with some ancient history. I’ll be writing a post about it soon but for now, here’s another use for it – ‘strong bones vinegar’.

Mugwort contains a lot of calcium and magnesium, making it useful for strengthening bones and improving muscle function. As the two often go hand in hand, this is a good combination.

A bit of caution: some folks are allergic to Mugwort, usually the same ones that have a Ragweed allergy. Mugwort can also affect pregnant women, so be careful here too please.

If this is your first time dealing with Mugwort, take precautions. Handle the fresh herb for a little, wait for a while and if you’re not sneezing up a storm and your eyes aren’t red and watery in about an hour, you should be good to go.

How to do it:

Making herbal vinegars is just too easy! Here’s how to make this one…

You need 2 things – some Mugwort, fresh is nicer but not necessary because we’re really after the water soluble components of the plant, not the oils.

Then you’ll need some vinegar. I use our home grown Apple Cider Vinegar. The acid in the vinegar is necessary for taste and to combine with the alkaline minerals in the Mugwort.

First, you’ll gather the fresh Mugwort (some of mine in the pic above is looking a little singed because of a week of 40°C+ temperatures here in Gawler).

Then you need to chop it up a bit so the vinegar can get in and do its work.

Add the Mugwort to the vinegar. We like it fairly light, so a couple of big handfuls of leaves in 2 litres of vinegar is enough for us. You may like it stronger or use a different amount if you use another kind of vinegar. It’s all good, just experiment.

Nobody here at Ligaya Garden is big on measuring anything for culinary purposes, preferring experience and the question ‘what if I do this…?’ to take the lead. When I’m making the remedies, I’m a stickler, of course.

Then you seal the bottle up, label it with far neater handwriting than mine (thinking ‘I’m sure I’ll remember what’s in this jar’ has been my downfall many times).

Leave it a month or so and away you go. It’s ready to strain and sprinkle on food.

Use Strong Bone vinegar as you would any other vinegar and you’ll benefit from the added minerals. Your skeleton will love you!

A bit of caution: some folks are allergic to Mugwort, usually the same ones that have a Ragweed allergy. Mugwort can also affect pregnant women, so be careful here too please.

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