Healthy Herbal Sodas #2: Lovage, Celery & Ginger

LOVAGE, CELERY & GINGER SYRUP - HEALTHY AROMATIC HERBAL SODA RECIPE SHARE

Decades ago I tried celery soda in a great Jewish deli in NYC. WOW! I had never heard of or tasted it before then, and with my grandfather being a soda maker I thought, damn, why didn't he make this? The roots of celery soda have stood the test of time and reach far back to when we had healthy tonic syrup options of aromatic herbs and fruits added to water, and bubbly waters as they became a thing too. David Sax, author of The Tastemakers, a book on food trends, says, “All these sodas started out as the functional medicines of their day. They were sweetened to make them more palatable."

Sax pointed out another connection between celery and the soda business: it pays with the Jewish folks who worked in the industry. During the 19th century, the majority of New York's Jewish immigrants came from Eastern Europe, and many of them found work in the soda business. "They were involved in the sugar industry in Poland and the Ukraine. Largely, beet sugar," Sax explained. Working with soda was a natural extension, and celery was a flavor they knew well from the old country. Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda start in 1868 in NYC and there are stories of “Dr. Brown” making many health promoting, plant based tonics. The NYC deli scene is where it all took off but the tonics with celery as a functional medicine are far older.

I created this one, FINALLY! And jazzed it up a little with agave, lovage, and ginger root, no cane sugar, but you can certainly use a good quality cane sugar, or any sweetener you decide you prefer. Stick to the 1:1 equal parts ratio of water to sweetener and make the aromatics strong so a little goes a long way to get flavor without it being too sweet in your final drink. 

WHO IS LOVAGE?
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a perennial herb with leaves that resemble those of celery and flat leaf parsley - sort of. The stems are round, hollow (make great straws) and have less ribbing than celery. This tall herb can reach up to 6-7 feet (2+ meters) in height when flowering and has many culinary applications. The flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, and stalks are used for food and medicine. It’s super easy to grow in an edible or medicinal garden (or like me, maybe you have them all mingled!), and it loves sunny to partial shade positions with more moist to well-drained soil conditions. It can handle more moisture, or “wet feet” as we plant folks say you will find along stream beds if it goes wild, somewhat like where you would find Angelica. 

Lovage is a member of the Apiaceae, or Umbellifer family. It's sometimes called smellage or maggi plant. I'm not sure why but still searching for this. In Italy it’s called sedano di monte, or mountain celery. It’s native to western Asia, parts of Northern Africa, and the Mediterranean region.

Lovage is also a botanical found in gin and has a long journey through the “spirit world” physically as an enhancing alcoholic aromatic flavoring, and as a metaphoric spirit traveler as well. I was quite the gin-lovin' drinker long ago but that Jen has taken a back seat these days. She’s “not allowed to drive" anymore in this life, or off the cliff we go. She remains part of my GPS system these days. 

Lovage perfect for eating and making tea's, syrups, vinegars and such.

Lovage (left) and Celery (right) with the honorary Cukes and Kale

LOVAGE AS MEDICINE ​

Let's take a look at the plant ingredients I chose for this recipe. 

LOVAGE: Medicinal Parts: ALL of it! Seed, root, flower, leaf, and stalk. 

See pic with the Lovage on the left next to the cucumber, celery on the right for a little stalk comparison.

Lovage is probably best known as a digestive aid, relieving flatulence and other stomach discomfort, and eases pain and inflammation in joints and acute injuries. Lovage was commonly used to strengthen the heart and as a respiratory aid. It was also a useful, potent diuretic for easing fluid retention, to treat kidney stones, and as a blood purifier by supporting our blood filtering organs. 
This aromatic herb tastes like a combination of strong celery and parsley but is definitely more concentrated in delivery by weight. 

​NOW WANDER THROUGH SOME TRADITIONAL MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF LOVAGE:

- Make a Tea of Lovage leaves, seeds, or root and drink just before bedtime for stimulating and supporting deep dreamwork.
-I drink a tea (or healthy herbal soda) to make the mind alert before business meetings, consulting, or school work.  
- Carry it in a sachet, medicine bundle, or charm to attract love, dates, or well matched partner(s). The roots and seeds of lovage are said to be used for erotic love alchemy.
- Place the grated fresh root or root powder in a mesh bag and hold under hot tap water when running a bath for cleansing, skin nourishing beauty. I would consider floating leaves and flowers in a bath too.
-Add 2 rose buds or a small handful rose petals to the bath with it to enhance the love partner drawing properties. Mixes well with Damiana or Meadowsweet too for cleansing and love attraction.
- Aids lovers through warring to mediation and reconciliation. Traditionally it was considered to be a last-ditch effort before a divorce. So I would drink tea or healthy soda during talks!
- When doing divination about relationship problems, a stalk of lovage can be brushed over the area of the reading before laying stones or cards, or powdered dried lovage sprinkled on the area. 
- Home protection is strong if planted near the entryway of your home. (Check! Two are here right out front and it was done before I learned this one!)
Given the plants medical and magical powers, it's no wonder Lovage was an extremely important herb during the Middle Ages, a garden without this plant was very rare indeed. I'd love to see this come around again. 
​
Plant LOVAGE!

CELERY AS MEDICINE

Most of us know this love for food but it's a phenomenal medicine too. Great for fever management, anti-inflammatory, a diuretic, kidney and adrenal support, along with digestive, respiratory, immune and cardiac toning properties. 

When you grow your own celery you learn a thing or two about how pungent and bitter it can get. Commercially grown celery is stalk buried to ease the green coming forward to deliver the true medicine, which is quite pungent and bitter. Grow some and learn. If it's too strong, then a little goes a long way. I love it in turkey meatballs made East Indian style, and with tuna. You can blanch it for 30 seconds in boiling water to ease the pungency if you want too. 

A RARE CELERY STORY: I once had a 97 year woman who was in the hospital with severe hypertension over 200/100 BP. She refused all medicines! She demanded her celery again and again. Most laughed, but I knew the truth too. It would stimulate her kidneys to make her urinate frequently to release the excess water in her system (edema) and this will drop a blood pressure significantly in some conditions. This eases breathing if fluid backs into the lungs which it was for her (congestive heart failure). I spoke to about what she and I both knew and she was thrilled. I sent a volunteer, skeptical-but-curious coworker to the store to get a bunch of celery with lots of really dark leaves. She was so happy! She munched all through the night, with naps of course as 97 year old's do. Diuresis kicked in well and she urinated enough to drop her pressure down so much that she went home in the morning in a safe range. 

​LOVE her still. She is one of my heroes. 

​AND FINALLY... GINGER AS MEDICINE: A favorite for immune, digestive, heart tonic, and blood thinning, circulatory support.

OK, Now the recipe! Tweak it. Make it yours and please give credit where credit is due for the inspirations that come to you. 

chopped lovage, celery leaves, ginger root and celery seed in water agave base.

The Recipe: LOVAGE, CELERY, & GINGER SYRUP - Homemade Soda Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup agave, rice, organic sugar, or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of lovage leaves and chopped stalks*
• 1/2 cup celery leaves*
  
• 1-2 tablespoons of slightly ground celery seed
• 1 inch ginger root peeled and grated or sliced paper thin

Serving Items:

• Soda water & fresh lime slices for serving

EQUIPMENT
mortar and pestle, small saucepan, fine strainer, funnel, glass bottle, labels

METHOD
1. In a small saucepan, bring the water and agave to barely a simmer, stirring until the mixture is clear.
2. Add the chopped lovage leaves and stalks plus the celery leaves and slightly ground celery seeds (in the mortar and pestle), and grated fresh ginger root.  Give it a gentle stir.
3. Cover with a pot lid and keep at just below a simmer for 30 min. 
4. Remove from the heat and lay a clean kitchen towel over it to keep the aromatics infusing in the syrup versus filling your home (which is lovely too but…. we want them in the syrup).
5. Leave to infuse for 4 hours or overnight if you prefer a stronger flavor. I will rewarm before straining usually. 
6. Using a fine strainer and a funnel, strain the syrup and funnel into a glass bottle. Label and date. It will keep in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

TO SERVE: Warm or cold, over ice with lime and celery stalks or a lovage straw is great. 1-2 TB per 8oz. water. Stir and enjoy! 

NO LOVAGE at your fingertips at the moment? Easy. Delete it and add another 1 TB of Celery Seed. It will be equally delicious. 

* NOTE: Due to homegrown lovage and celery having far more intense flavor than most store bought ones, a little goes a long way so you may wish to vary the amount used to make the syrup. Make it strong! We dilute these with soda water or warm water for drinking so we want the flavor to travel through the diluting process.
​
Enjoy! SOOO Good. Much Love, Jen