Natural scents in our homes

[Pattree]

Just a lump of smouldering fruit wood pulled out into the grate for a few moments.

(Then switch off the smoke alarm )

 

[GreyCat]

Willow. The scent from a basket just woven from brown willow.

The scent decreases as the basket dries but for a few days the room is scented by it.

GC

 

[Toddy]

Willow. The scent from a basket just woven from brown willow.

The scent decreases as the basket dries but for a few days the room is scented by it.

GC

Seagrass basketry does the same, but the scent lingers. I can still mind the smell of the Moses basket used for me and my wee brother all those years ago.
Something of the same from the soft rush too.

The old custom of strewing herbs must have been such a lovely turn in the year. Bracken, rushes, meadowsweet, lady's bedstraw, sweet vernal grass, mugwort, pine, sweet gale, melissa.....

I live in a very modern, centrally heated little house. It's comfortable, but it does lack the reality of flagstone floors, of thick cut solid wood, of basketry woven hurdles, etc.,

It's trying to have something of the natural world and the turn of the seasons that brought this whole thread to mind.

Right now the bowl of quince in the kitchen is gently casting it's perfume through the house

 

[demented dale]

The traditional ones that I'm aware of are:

Sweet Vernal-grass
Wormwood
Meadowsweet

and the oil pressed from the Yellow Flag seeds

Others, include the mints etc. but, as Toddy pointed out, many are used strewn on the floor so the smell comes out as you walk on them.

I know you said no candles Toddy, but home made ones laced with the herbs of your choice maintain a pleasant smell for a reasonable time.

Broch how do prep meadowsweet?. I never even thought about bringing the smell into the home , its everywhere in the late summer. DD xxx

 

[demented dale]

For those with a wood burning stove. I use lemon peel. Just put it on the top. Gives a nice scent of lemon and when it is dry you can use it as a fire lighter. Same with oranges. DD xxx

 

[Glow_worm]

Right now the bowl of quince in the kitchen is gently casting it's perfume through the house

Thank you Toddy, my neighbour has a quince tree and making use of the fruit is one wonderful activity too many for her at the moment, and I avoid sugar so they are just rotting. Well, apart from those now providing me a wonderful scent! Never occurred to me before.

 

[Broch]

Broch how do prep meadowsweet?. I never even thought about bringing the smell into the home , its everywhere in the late summer. DD xxx

Traditionally it was strewn about the place so as you walked over it the scent would come out; it was also just used as hanging or displayed bunches.

We don't know when essential oils were first produced (well, not for sure anyway) but you can make or buy meadowsweet essential oils now.

 

[Toddy]

There is a lovely sweet made from quinces. I know it as cotignac but I was told last time we talked of it that it's better known as membrillo.

Membrillo is a thick paste that sets like a very firm jelly that can be cut into batons and it's eaten with cheese or crackers.

The Spanish recipe calls for 1:6 sugar to quince, which is pretty good for this kind of thing,

Spanish Quince jelly | Membrillo — Omar Allibhoy - The Spanish Chef

My family has a house in the mountains near Madrid and it is where we all congregate every Christmas. We are completely spoiled in that you only have to walk out of the house to come across wonderful natural ingredients: mushrooms, asparagus, thistles, game, fish, nuts, wild fruits and berries.

www.thespanishchef.com

but there's a sugar free recipe, here...

Amazing Quince! - Sugar-free Recipe

Update - Oct. 2024: We've been continuing with our experiments with quince recipes and learned a few things. Rather than re-write the post,...

thesharinggardens.blogspot.com

Old thread....

Thread 'Mrs. sandbenders Quince Cheese recipe'

Aug 6, 2014

By demand, Mrs. sandbenders Quince Cheese recipe.

I would have liked to include more photos but these are the only ones I have to hand, Quince Cheese is something usually prepared at the beginning of December (the Hungarian santa comes on the 5th December) I'll take some more this year and post them into this thread.

Quince cheese has a very long shelf life without refrigeration, in many ways it is an ideal trail snack.

Enjoy.


Ingredients:

Quince
Sugar

Equipment:

Pressure cooker
Plates
silicon moulds (optional)

Method:

Place the Quince (skin and all) in...

• sandbender
• Replies: 38
• Forum: The Homestead

 

[Toddy]

Traditionally it was strewn about the place so as you walked over it the sent would come out; it was also just used as hanging or displayed bunches.

We don't know when essential oils were first produced (well, not for sure anyway) but you can make or buy meadowsweet essential oils now.

I use meadowsweet. It's a three part herb to me.
The flourish, the leaves, and the roots...and they all have different strengths.

The flourish is gentle on the stomach, and it's a natural aspirin. It really does work as a decent painkiller, sooths aching joints, etc., The leaves make a tisane that's available even when the flourish isn't but I don't find that so gentle.
The roots are only for a hard need...toothache, sore throat. They smell of germolene and a tiny wee piece of that thick red root put into the mouth and held near the aching gum really does relief the pain and inflammation. Unpleasant in the mouth though. Chew up a bit and gargle and then rinse really well for a sore throat. It makes a good tincture that works as a topical analgesic too.

I gather and dry the flourish for use through autumn winter and spring......and I mind where I saw meadowsweet growing so that I can find the roots if need be in Winter. There are usually a few leaves about though unless the winter is really hard.

.....I am not a medical herbalist, if you choose to use the herb, read up really well first or consult a Herbalist.

 

[Broch]

Yep, it contains salicin (like willow bark) amongst other things. It has a wide range of reported medical applications, including as a febrifuge and anti-inflammatory, but is also a mild sedative. It is or was used in herbal tobacco - I'm not sure how much of its medicinal value is maintained when smoking

(like Toddy says, we accept no liability whatsoever if you try any of the herbs we discuss)

 

[Toddy]

The flourish was used to flavour wine too

 

[demented dale]

Traditionally it was strewn about the place so as you walked over it the scent would come out; it was also just used as hanging or displayed bunches.

We don't know when essential oils were first produced (well, not for sure anyway) but you can make or buy meadowsweet essential oils now.

cool i will do that the natural way next year, strangely enough am still seeing it in flower here in november xxx

 

[Tengu]

Do Tomcats count?

 

[Laurentius]

Boiled linseed oil at the moment.

 

[HillBill]

I had some leylandii drying out beside the stove. Surprisingly nice before I did some homemade pakora and the house smells of garam masala

Thats what happens when you use a finishing spice as a cooking spice...