Hawthorn: Herbal medicine and Recipes

Hawthorn trees produce an array of food for human consumption; berries or haws, flowers both blossoms andbuds, leaves and shoots all of which are among some of the most beneficial plant parts you can consume. Beloved of country folk (we know not to clear our fields of hawthorn trees) and a symbol of hope through the ages, the berries are very plentiful now and can be turned into jelly, paste, vinegar, liqueur, chutney, sauce, schnapps, and wine. You can also make them into poultices, medicinal tinctures, and dry them to use as a decoction later.

Hawthorn is a heart and circulatory system tonic and contains, amongst others, flavonoids, saponins, procyanidins, phenolic acids, amines, and vitamin C. Dr Green, a renowned heart doctor who worked in Clare in the 1800s, used tincture of ripe hawthorn berries, a secret only revealed after his death. Indeed originally only the berries were used but higher concentrations of active flavonoids have been discovered in the flowers and leaves when they are in full bloom. One study found spring shoots to be the most active of all.* In practise, herbalists combine the flowers, leaves and berries together.

The flavonoids dilate coronary arteries and arteries external to the heart while the procyanidins, which are more prevalent in the leaves around late summer, apparently slow the heartbeat and act as an antibiotic. Hawthorn increases the force of contraction of the heart muscle and the nerve conduction to heart cells. In addition, the circulation to the heart is increased, thus supplying the heart with more oxygen and necessary nutrients. Hawthorn normalizes the heart and circulation, lowering or raising blood pressure according to need. It is used in herbal prescriptions for heart weakness, irregular heart beat, hardening of the arteries, artery spasms and angina, arterial hypertension, congestive heart failure or disease, and intermittent claudication. The berry tincture, taken over months, is considered a safe remedy that helps a range of heart problems, and assists the ageing heart. Unlike digitalis, its action is not severe and while taking longer to achieve does not have a cumulative effect on heart tissue. However, hawthorn berries may increase the effects of digitalis and other inotropic medications. Please always check with your herbalist if you are taking this type of medication and would like also to use hawthorn. Known in Ireland as the ‘nurse of the heart’ it has been used for centuries to help the ageing heart. This berry helps us too when we are grieving or mourning – it seems to lighten any weight felt in the heart and lends a hand when the heart has to work harder.

Here are some hawthorn recipes:

Hawthorn brandy is another tincture, easily produced by soaking fresh haws in whatever quality brandy you can afford for three weeks in a dark, cold place in a sealed glass jar. The better the quality, the more mellow the finished drink.

My thanks to my former student colleague, Christina Stapeley, for the following information; her basic liqueur making recipe and method for haw decoctions. I highly recommend her herbal trilogy if you every come across them: Herbwise Naturally, Herbcraft Naturally, and Herb Sufficient; all published by Heartease Books in the UK.

Hawthorn Liqueur

To a jar full of infused hawthorn berry brandy (see recipe above), add 1 grated nutmeg, 1 cinnamon stick (crumbled), the chopped peel of one orange, 4 cloves and ½-1 cup full of sugar or honey. Seal the jar with a screw top lid, place in a warm, dark place for 8 weeks shaking regularly, then strain and pour into a sterile bottle. Seal the bottle with a screw top lid or cork and leave in a cold dark place to mature for as long as possible (at least two years).

Haw decoction

Haws can also be dried and used to make a decocted tea with other herbs and spices. The easiest way to dry them is to place the haws inside a paper bag and hang them in a warm, dark cupboard for several months until they are totally hard and dry. They can then be stored in a glass jar for several years if kept out of the light and used as necessary. To make a decoction, take a tablespoonful of dried haws, add to a small saucepan together with a pint of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer with the lid tightly on for 20 minutes. Strain and use. Decoctions can be stored in the fridge for two days. The berries can be eaten as they are and the leaves can be used as salad when they first appear in Spring. They were commonly referred to in the olden days as “bread and cheese”, because the leaves were eaten between slices of buttered bread and were a staple food in early Spring. Always be sure you know what you are harvesting and if in any doubt ask someone to go with you until you become familiar with the plants.

Haws are not restricted to making drinks. They can also be used to make a wonderful sauce to accompany duck or other game meats. The original recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage Autumn, with slight adaptation.

Haw-sin Sauce

375g haws

200g runny honey

250ml water

250ml cider vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Wash haws in cold water and remove stalks. Cook in saucepan with water and cider vinegar for 45 minutes until soft. Sieve through metal sieve pushing through as much softened material as possible. Measure liquid. Clean saucepan. Return liquid to saucepan adding honey to liquid in equal volume (100ml:100g). Heat gently while stirring with wooden spoon until honey is dissolved. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes if you wish to reduce the amount of liquid and thicken the syrup. Pour into hot, sterile bottles. Seal, label and date.

Hawthorn and hazelnut squares

For this recipe my grateful thanks to the wonderful people at Country Kitchen which is sadly no longer being produced and was a mine of information on nourishing traditions.

1 kg (2lb) haws (approx)

A glass of Calvados/Cider/apple juice or mixture of all three

A double handful of shelled hazelnuts

2-3 dessertspoons of runny honey

Icing sugar for dusting

Destalk and wash the haws. Place directly in a bowl or into a sieve in a closely-fitting bowl. Add the glass of Calvados/Cider/apple juice or mixture of all three and mash with the calvados – you can use a potato masher but with your bare hands is more fun if not easier. Once mashed, force the pulp through the sieve leaving the seeds. The right amount of liquid has been used if the pulp does not drip through the sieve, but needs to be scraped off from the bottom. Mix pulp with the honey, and spoon into moulds. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Turn out, cut into squares and toss in finely-crushed hazelnuts – these can be crushed in a food processor or using a pestle and mortar. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

The haw squares are raw so will need freezing if you want to keep them till Christmas – icing at the last minute. Alternatively, the frozen squares can be dipped and covered in melted chocolate and eaten within a couple of days. But do use them soon after defrosting as they don’t last being raw and not containing preservatives.

These are delicious served, of course, with hawthorn coffee and here’s how to make that.

The remaining pulpy seeds can be spread out thinly on a metal tray to dry. You could place the tray on top of a night-time storage heater or on top of the immersion heater, but placing in a low oven for a couple of hours will also dry them. Alternatively, if you wash the seeds first, they can be dried more slowly on newspaper in the airing cupboard.

Once dry, spread out thinly and roast in a hot oven for 30 minutes. Grind and roast for another 30 minutes and use in a cafetiere – 1-2 heaped dessert spoon per cup. This is a pleasant caffeine-free coffee substitute on its own or it can be mixed half and half with dried and roasted dandelion roots.

*Costa, et. al. 1986. Plantes Med. Phytother. 20:115-28.

written by Anne Varley Medical Herbalist

Hawthorn: Herbal medicine and Recipes

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