Oxymels are an ancient herbal medicine preparation dating at least back to classical Greece and Persia, mentioned in texts from Hippocrates (400 BC!), Galen and Avicenna. They were used to treat a wide variety of diseases and imbalances, from respiratory and digestive complaints, to fevers and asthma. The name oxymel comes from the Greek ὀξύμελι: ὀξύς (oxys) meaning acid, and μέλι (meli) meaning honey. The Latin version of the word is oxymeli. 

What is an oxymel?

An oxymel is simply a blend of fermented vinegar and honey, often infused with healing herbs. (By fermented I mean to distinguish from distilled vinegar, like the white distilled vinegar you may use for housecleaning). Fermented vinegars can be made from fruits like apple cider vinegar (apples), or red and white wine vinegars (grapes), and even herbs and flowers can be made into fermented vinegars! (Another essay on homemade fermented vinegars coming soon, I think). 

While paralyzing perfectionism is definitely something to avoid, I do encourage you to use a raw, living vinegar when making oxymels and infused vinegars. They truly are living–with probiotics and enzymes that are essential to health and the medicine. The same goes for the honey.

Raw honey has been revered as a healing substance for thousands of years. (The earliest known depiction of beekeeping comes from a cave in Spain dated to around 7,000 BC, showing a human figure collecting honey from a hive, and I expect our relationship with bees and honey goes back even further). Throughout history, honey has been used in medicine for its anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and wound-healing properties–and so much more! Its virtues have been so used, celebrated and cherished that they have been woven into myth, lore and sacred texts from all over the world. 

The simple blend of living vinegar and raw honey is a potent medicine in and of itself. Adding medicinal plants into the mix really brings it to another level, helping to clarify and direct the healing action.

Modern Herbal Use and Menstruums

Modern herbalists descended from the European tradition often use alcohol as their favored menstruum (solvent) when preparing herbal medicines. These are called tinctures. The use of vinegar-as-menstruum has fallen slightly out of favor, but is still used today in certain cases: for those who avoid alcohol, for children, and for mineral-rich extractions.

Different menstruums extract different medicinal constituents of plants. There are water-soluble compounds, alcohol-soluble, fat-soluble... Vinegar is a good menstruum for extracting minerals from plants. As vinegar also contains water, it is a good solvent for a wide range of properties of plants.

Think of salad dressing... there is wisdom in pouring vinegar and oil over bitter greens: the vinegar helps to extract the minerals while the fat helps to deliver the nutrients deep into the tissues. 

My favorite things to extract in vinegar are mineral-rich herbs (like nettles, cleavers, raspberry leaf, oat straw), aromatic herbs (like thyme, rosemary, sage), and fruits (fresh or dried!).

Why Use Oxymels?

So, why make an oxymel? Or why use one? As I said before, they are particularly well-suited to digestive and respiratory issues. I love fresh tarragon oxymel for nervous digestion, related to anxiety, grief, depression, etc. (Or just for pleasure–it's divine!). Vinegar and honey are both known to help regulate blood sugar. Taking a sip of vinegar before eating helps even out blood sugar spikes and crashes, so digestive vinegars are great for everyone. (See the amazing research from @glucosegoddess on Instagram!)

Culinary herbs are particularly suited due to their carminative (digestive-stimulating) action, and they are also delicious.

For the respiratory system, hyssop, thyme, and white pine come to mind. And also the famous "Fire Cider" (yes–it's an oxymel!), consisting of variations of garlic, onion, ginger, horseradish, and cayenne. Rosemary Gladstar, beloved 'Godmother of American Herbalism,' popularized this old traditional folk remedy, and together with the help of three other herbalists, fought and won to keep this remedy in the hands of the people. (Read more here).

Minerals, Modern Depletion, and The Case For Oxymels

Mineral-rich oxymels are a great daily tonic for all of us, who are likely woefully depleted due to industrial agriculture, pesticide use, monocropping, genetic engineering of seeds, and general disrespect for earth's slow, natural rhythms–all of which has led to soil depletion and a great reduction in the nutrient values previously found in foods.

Don't downward spiral–there so many solutions, like indigenous-inspired permaculture, small & closed-loop farming, heritage-breed animals and heirloom seeds, etc. That said, consciously considering your mineral intake is wise, and exceptionally important for pregnancy, breastfeeding, growing children, and women in their menstrual years.

I think rotating herbs makes sense, both seasonally and to get a spectrum of nutrients! Get creative... fruit-herb blends are especially fun, rich, and delicious! Raspberry leaf, nettle, cleavers, dandelion, rose hip, goji berry, jujube, oat straw, blackberry, apricot, peach... endless possibilities! If overwhelmed, just start with what is growing around you, what you have on hand in the pantry, or what you have access to from local shops and herbalists. 

Oxymels, Shrubs, and Switchels

A note on hydration and electrolyte drinks

Speaking of minerals, and hydration, I think homemade oxymels deserve a place in the current electrolyte drink craze! Cellular hydration, structured water, mineralization–they are all big, trendy topics right now (and rightly so!). There is a lot to be said for how we hydrate.

Personally, I was never one for chugging water all day 'till your pee is clear. It made my stomach feel upset, and I was greatly gratified when I learned in herb school that drinking water with meals dilutes digestive secretions, decreasing absorption of nutrients and increasing issues like reflux, heartburn, bloating and more.

Learning more about minerals and how important supporting electrolytes has further supported my own personal experience. ("Irrigation vs. hydration" is one way I've heard it put, though I can't remember who said it). I love the cutting-edge research on structured water (start here and interviews or books by Gerald Pollack), and was fascinated to hear of his findings showing that herbs tested like tulsi, and also the Ayurvedic preparation called 'ghee' which is similar to clarified butter, both structure water.

I have a sneaking suspicion that all tea is actually structured water, as well as all living fermented beverages (kombucha, vinegar, mead, beer, water kefir, etc). But I digress..... All of this tangent to say that oxymels certainly cover all the bases of real hydration: structured, mineral content, electrolytes, acidic...

Switchels and Shrubs: New England Hydration Drinks

For years, my favorite electrolyte drink (for hot days, amazing hydration for exercise, breastfeeding/pregnancy & detox baths and saunas) has been the switchel, something I learned about in herb school in New England.

Switchels were a popular drink for farmers during harvest-time, with hot days spent in the sun, and were usually apple cider vinegar, ginger, and a sweetener (molasses, honey, or maple syrup) diluted in a glass of water.

I'm not sure if it was traditional to add a pinch of salt, but that is how I learned to make them, and it gives an extra boost of electrolytes. I usually make switchels with lemon, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt, but lo and behold, a switchel could be as easy as oxymel + salt (diluted in water). Brilliant! 

Another similar preparation in New England was the shrub, which was fresh fruit infused in vinegar and sugar, to help preserve the abundant harvest in a shelf-stable (and delicious!) way. Traditionally served in water, shrubs were also particularly enjoyed on hot summer days, to deeply quench thirst (hello, true hydration that we were just discussing!).

The difference between shrubs and oxymels is that shrubs were a syrupy food preparation made with fruit and sugar, while oxymels exclusively used honey, usually contained infused herbs, and were used expressly for medicine.

I think both are lovely in their traditional forms and uses, and also that the overlap and blurred lines can be fun to play around with, food-as-medicine, to ground into seasonal and local eating, and just as a piece of one's herbal medicine chest–a collection of preventative and therapeutic preparations. (Check out my home apothecary section for a small selection of offerings for your own herbal medicine chest!)

Here is a loose recipe to get you started, followed by some blend inspiration and creative uses. May it be the spark to make it your own!

Make Your Own Oxymel

ingredients:

• fermented vinegar, such as raw apple cider vinegar
• raw honey, wonderful if from a local beekeeper for additional benefits
• fresh or dried herbs
• and/or fresh or dried fruits
• a glass vessel with a glass or plastic lid or a metal lid + wax paper (for rust)
• a sieve, cheesecloth/fabric, or nut milk bag, for straining

method:

• add your herbs to a jar, whole, chopped, dried, fresh... as you like
• eyeball it: fill a jar about halfway with honey and the rest of the way with vinegar (or sweeten to taste, I often make mine a bit less sweet)
• shake or stir well to mix and dissolve the honey
• let infuse for 2 weeks to a month (or forget about it on the shelf, to come back and discover it has grown a lovely vinegar mother on top, and is still potent medicine)
• strain, bottle and enjoy

Shelf Life + Tips

These are quite shelf stable. As with any home ferment or preparation, use common sense and trust your senses (sight, taste, smell) to tell you if the medicine is still good.

As stated above, it's quite common to find a vinegar mother happily growing on top of an infusing oxymel. If this happens, I highly suggest you scoop it off and plop it into a jar filled with apple peels and cores to make your own homemade vinegar! (Or other blend of sugary fruits, flowers, and herbs).

If you see surface mold growing (which I have never had happen and find to be quite unlikely since we're dealing with vinegar and honey, both of which are excellent preservatives and are anti-microbial), scrape it off, transfer to a clean jar, and use your senses to tell you if it is still good.

For optimal medicinal potency, use within a year. (Remember, these are seasonal medicine, you can make it again next year!)

Blend Ideas

to get you started

• spring tonic: dandelion blossom, nettle, cleavers, strawberry
• sore throat remedy: sage
• respiratory tonic: white pine and thyme
• cooling summer tonic: fresh mint leaf
• pregnancy & breastfeeding mineralization: raspberry leaf, oat straw, rose hip, jujube, dandelion, dried or fresh apricot, summer berries, nettle...
• salad dressing: rosemary and peach

Sources & Recommended Reading 

Hippocrates - On Regimen in Acute Diseases

@glucosegooddess on Instagram

"Sekanjabin in Persian Medicine" - Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022)

Pollack Lab - Structured Water Research

Documentary on Food Soverignty and Environmental Activism - Vandana Shiva

Sustainable Dish - The Role of Grazing Animals in Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resilience

Slow Down Farmstead – Essays on Regenerative Farming, Food Sovereignty, and Rural Life

Originally written for Crose Nest Apothecary in 2018. Re-written & updated April 2025.