The art of the tonicA gentle, restoring thing
A good tonic is not a stimulant. In the old herbals a tonic was a “normalizer” - a drink taken to nourish and steady the body over time, rather than to spur it and leave it depleted.
It is a habit shared across the great traditions: the English country kitchen, the physicians of Greece, and the healing systems of China and India alike, where tonic herbs were valued to strengthen the constitution and support the body’s own resilience. As the old saying has it,
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Perhaps the most English of them all, dandelion and burdock have been paired for centuries as a cleansing spring tonic - the drink our forebears reached for to clear away the accumulations of winter.
Burdock is the deep cleanser of the two, long taken to support the liver and the blood. Dandelion has always been a friend to the liver, the kidneys and the digestion. Traditionally the pair are steeped together, half and half, and softened with a little mint and honey.
When the hedgerows foam with elderflower in early summer, there is only one thing to make. Fragrant, golden and endlessly useful - over ice with sparkling water, stirred into a fruit fool, or poured over ice cream.
Elderflower Cordial
- 2¼ lb cane sugar
- 3 pints boiling water
- 4 medium lemons
- 30 large elderflower heads
- 2 oz citric acid
Method. Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water. Add the grated rind and sliced flesh of the lemons, the citric acid and the elderflower heads. Cover and leave to steep for 48 hours. Strain through muslin into sterilised bottles and keep somewhere cool and dark. To serve, dilute to taste with still or sparkling water.
A tradition worth revivingGood enough for Shakespeare’s England
English tonics were once prized as restorative, bracing and invigorating - a few, in their day, becoming almost legendary for the good they were said to do.
The regard runs deep. Even in Shakespeare’s Pericles, the good Lord Cerimon praises the “blest infusions that dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones.” It is that tradition - honest, plant-based and quietly good for you - that we are bringing across the pond to your table.
The traditional uses noted here are shared for interest and are not medical advice.