![]() I love to use this in place of vanilla extract in baked goods, and a teaspoon in a cocktail goes a long way.Ī simple syrup can be made by combining equal parts water, sugar and wintergreen and simmering and stirring just until the sugar is fully dissolved. ![]() Once you’re happy with the flavor, strain the leaves, and it’ll store indefinitely. Put this on a dark shelf where you’ll remember to shake it every few days, and start tasting it after four weeks. This oil should never be ingested, as methyl salicylate is toxic at this concentrated dose.įor one pint of wintergreen extract, fill a pint jar three-quarters full with torn or chopped leaves and fill to the top with either vodka, whiskey or bourbon. These topical remedies usually contain wintergreen essential oil, which is made by steam distillation of huge amounts of plant matter. This is usually administered topically in the form of oils, ointments, and balms. ![]() That spicy, mint flavor comes from a compound called methyl salicylate, which is similar to aspirin and used externally in low doses for its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Once you find yourself a nice dense patch that hasn’t been sprayed with chemicals, all you need is a few handfuls of leaves every now and then to keep you in wintergreen flavor for years. In places where wintergreen is thriving and there’s a lush carpet and not just a few sparse plants, it’s very tolerant of gathering as long as you’re only taking berries or a leaf from each plant, and not stripping them bare or pulling up their roots. The patch that I first picked from was on a sunny corner where a mixed-wood forest met a hayfield, and that patch is still there and expanding, even with people collecting from it every year. It’s common in many of Maine’s forest types as long as the soil is slightly acidic. It’s one of our most common native groundcover plants, often forming gleaming, green (or blushing red in winter) carpets on the forest floor, especially in sunny openings and edges. While I don’t promote foraging on roadsides, keeping an eye out for these patches can speed up the scouting process and point you toward a healthy patch that extends back away from the road. It’s easy to spot new patches, even while I’m just driving through a new area, because it often blankets the uphill sides of the ditches that line roads, and the way the sun shines off the glossy leaves always catches my eye. If you’ve spent any time outdoors in Maine, it’s almost a sure thing you’ve walked by a patch of Wintergreen somewhere along your way.
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