Burdock and sarsaparilla were two of the most commonly prescribed “alterative” roots in nineteenth-century American herbal medicine — used together to gently support the body’s natural elimination and metabolic processes over time, the same pairing behind the original pharmacy-counter root beers.
Ingredients (makes about 1 quart)
- 1 oz dried burdock root
- 1 oz dried sarsaparilla root (or safrole-free extract)
- 1/2 oz dried dandelion root
- 1 quart filtered water
- Raw honey, to taste
Method
- Combine the roots with the water in a saucepan.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and hold 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid darkens and smells earthy.
- Strain through cheesecloth, pressing the roots to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Sweeten to taste with raw honey while still warm, then cool.
- Drink a small glass (4 oz) daily, warm or over ice.
Both roots appeared as named entries in the American pharmacopeia throughout the 1800s. Refrigerate and drink within a week.
This recipe is one of twenty in The Forgotten Apothecary — our full digital cookbook of pharmacy-counter tonics, switchels, oxymels, and healing syrups.