Uses and Recipes for Wintergreen

Medicinal:

Liniments can be made with the simple ingredients of wintergreen leaves and berries covered with rubbing alcohol.  Let set for at least two weeks then strain out plant material.  This can be rubbed onto areas that are sore.  This is the best liniment for broken or irritated skin.

A second liniment can be made using wintergreen's heating partner, cayenne.  Simple put a handful of wintergreen into a jar, followed by a pepper, followed by another handful of wintergreen and so on.  After layering the plants pour rubbing alcohol over this and again let set for minimum of two weeks.  Strain and use on sore muscles and joints.

Oils and salves can be made using these two ingredients as well. Using the same technique above, fill a jar with layers of wintergreen and cayenne.  Leave an inch and a half head space at the top of the jar.  Cover all the plant material with oil.  Place a clean, heavy object in the jar to keep the plant material submerged beneath the oil.   Let set for 2 weeks to a month in a warm dark place.  Strain and use as oil or thicken with beeswax to make a salve.  This is again good for sore aching muscles and joints.

By itself wintergreen salve helps relieve the sting or itch of bug bites.

Wintergreen can be used as a tea by itself or mixed with black or green tea to use the caffeine as an extra "push" for its pain relieving properties.  This is one tea that doesn't need to be seeped for long periods of time.  Fifteen minutes should extract enough of the salicylic acid to reduce swelling and ease pain.

Culinary:

First the berries can be added to pies for a wonderful refreshing punch to many berry pies. 

Root Beer:

2 cups of molasses
1 gallon of water
1 oz wintergreen leaves
2 oz sassafras root bark
2 tablespoons powder yeast

Heat water and molasses to boiling.  Let cool to body temperature (around 100 degrees).  Add herbs and sprinkle yeast over the top of the must.  Let ferment from 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.  Strain, then bottle and refrigerate.

Wintergreen Berry Wine

4 pounds ripe tea berry
1 1/2 pound sugar
1/2 gallon water
juice of 2 lemons
1 Tablespoon yeast

Boil water and mix in sugar until dissolved.  Put berries into sugar water, mash lightly.  Cover with cloth until cools to blood temperature (around 100 degrees).  Stir in lemon juice and sprinkle yeast over must.  Cover again and let sit until fermentation dies down.  Rack out wine into secondary fermentation vessel and fit it with an airlock .  Let sit for about 2 months.  Rack into bottles and let age for 6 months.   Serve cold or use for cooking with deserts.  If you are licenced it makes a nice brandy for distilling.

Wintergreen Jelly

2 cups fresh wintergreen leaves
2 cups ripe wintergreen berries
4 cups water
1 cup sugar per cup of juice
3 ounces liquid pectin or 4 Tablespoons powdered pectin + 1/2 cup water

Wash leaves, and put into a large saucepan with 2 cups water.  Bring to boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.  In separate saucepan combine berries with remaining water, bring to boil and simmer until soft.  Mash berries well, then drain through a jelly bag into measuring cup.  Do NOT squeeze.  Strain leaves out of water and add to the berry water.  Measure how much juice you have.  Wipe out large saucepan and return juice to pan.  Add 1 cup sugar per each cup of juice.  Bring to a full rolling boil, add pectin, bring back to full rolling boil and hold boil for 1 minute.  Pour into sterile jars and seal.