Calendula oil: Recipe

Calendula herbal tea and oil: recipe

Celebrate spring with homemade calendula oil made from fresh flowers

One of the first plants to bloom in spring is definitely the calendula. It's easy to see fields covered with orange flowers that open in the morning and close in the evening. You have surely thought about picking these wonderful flowers and making a delicious herbal tea or the famous calendula oil. In this article, we reveal our recipes so you can prepare them comfortably at your home.

What you need and how to proceed?

The calendula is a plant that grows throughout the Mediterranean basin, easily recognizable for its orange flowers. There are many varieties of Calendula, the one we find spontaneously in the fields is Calendula arvensis. The part we will use is the flowers that grow at the beginning of each month (hence the derivation of the name calendae).

How to prepare calendula oil?

7 simple steps for your homemade calendula oil

1. First, collect the flower heads - the inflorescence - in a meadow that has not been treated with pesticides.
2. Once collected, dry them in the shade and store them in dry rooms with little light to prevent the loss of the orange color.
3. After drying, separate the petals from the flower heads. You will get a yield of 30-40% compared to the dry weight.
4. For the calendula oil recipe, you can use olive oil (preferably of excellent quality) or sweet almond oil. Remember that the ratio should be 1:10 - one part plant and ten parts oil.
5. Let the flowers macerate in the oil you have chosen. We recommend a large transparent glass jar.
6. Let the preparation rest in the sun for 40 days.
7. After the maceration period, filter the oil with gauze and store the obtained calendula oil in glass bottles.

Thanks to the excellent preserving power of the oil, we can use our preparation for at least 2 or 3 years.

How to use calendula oil?

Calendula oil is a versatile remedy that will be useful in various situations, which is why we recommend everyone to always have some at home. You can treat burns, eczema, various irritations with this miraculous oil. It will also work great as a simple moisturizer and nourishing for your skin, as well as an excellent and fragrant after-sun lotion!

Calendula herbal tea: recipe

With dried calendula flowers, we can also make excellent herbal teas that have digestive and soothing properties. Great for those suffering from reflux, intestinal inflammation, and stomach acidity.

Just use about 5-6 g of dried flowers in 100°C water for 10 minutes of infusion. Filter and then drink.

Properties of calendula

Calendula flowers have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, emollient, and soothing properties.

Scritto da Terza Luna