Where do they put hyssop in cooking. What is hyssop - description of the plant, benefits and harms, use in cooking and traditional medicine

Hyssop belongs to the Mint tribe from the Yasnotkov family. Other plant names blue hypericum, agastahis or bee grass. The plant has a rather pungent odour.

Title in other languages:

• lat. Hyssopus officinalis;
• English Hyssop;
• fr. Hysope.

During flowering, hyssop bushes are covered with blue flowers.

Appearance

It grows in the form of a grass or shrub, it can reach up to 0.6 m in length. It has oblong, whole-edged dark green leaves. Their length is several cm. They are located opposite each other on the stem, almost sessile. They have a pleasant spicy, refreshing mint smell and a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Hyssop is frost-resistant, so it can often be found in the meadows of our Motherland

The stem is tetrahedral.

flowers irregular shape closer to the top they are white, pink or cabal blue, form inflorescences. In the axils of the leaflets there are smaller flowers of purple, lilac, pink or even milky color.

Flowering occurs from early summer to early autumn. The fruits of hyssop break up into nuts brown shade ovoid shape. There are four such nuts, each also has four faces.

Hyssop flowers can be white, pink and of blue color

Hyssop seeds are similar to sunflower seeds

Kinds

The most commonly used as an ornamental and medicinal plant is hyssop officinalis.

Hyssop officinalis is widely used in traditional medicine

Previously, hyssop numbered over fifty species. On the this moment There are about seven species left.

Hyssop pink - magical and sacred grass

Anise hyssop (Agastache anisata) has delicate large ovate-pointed serrated leaves, pubescent below. Its inflorescences are from lilac to red-violet. Flower candles are up to 20 cm high. The smell of leaves resembles anise and licorice.

Lemon hyssop (Mexican agastachis or mexican mint- Agastache mexikana) has an aniseed aroma with hints of lemon. Its leaves are serrated and narrower than those of anise. It has bright red-purple flowers.

Anise hyssop with ovate-pointed serrated leaves

Lemon hyssop with more narrow leaves And bright inflorescences

Where does it grow?

Hyssop loves warm climes, despite the fact that he can withstand even harsh conditions. Most species grow in the countries of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in Asia. In Russia, it occurs mainly in the middle and southern latitudes. It can grow both in the European territory of the country, and closer to the Caucasus Mountains. Also often blue St. John's wort can be found closer to the south of Western Siberia.

Grows predominantly in steppe zone, on hills with dry soil, on the slopes of mountains. Tolerates drought well.

Hyssop is cultivated in the Crimea and added to the famous Crimean salt

spice making method

The blue St. John's wort has a tart-spicy taste and a pleasant smell. Fresh leaves are used as a spice, for this they are simply finely chopped. Also, the plant is often dried, ground and then used as a spice in combination with other seasonings and spices.

Dry hyssop has a pleasant aroma

Peculiarities

The plant exudes a strong aroma throughout the flowering period. Its fruits are often confused with seeds. Seeds so small size that there are about a thousand of them per gram. They can be stored for several years.

Hyssop is a good honey plant, hence the name of the plant "bee grass". Bees are very fond of collecting pollen and nectar from it, so it is convenient to grow it near a bee hive or apiary.

Hyssop is a honey plant, its aroma attracts bees

Characteristics

Hyssop has the following characteristics:

• used in cooking;
• used in folk medicine;
• unpretentious to growing conditions;
• drought tolerant;
• endures cold;
• often grown in decorative purposes.

Decorative garden borders hyssop look great

Nutritional value and calories

The nutritional value and calories per 100 grams of product

Much more useful information, you can find out by watching the video from the program "1000 and one spice of Scheherazade"

Chemical composition

• isopinocamphone;
• carvacrol;
• hesperidin;
• diosmin;
• vitamin C;
• glycosides;
• ursolic acid;
• essential oils;
• terpenic acids;
• tannins;
• bitterness.

The essential oil of the herb also contains many useful substances.

Beneficial features

Hyssop has a number of useful properties:

• used in folk and traditional medicine;
• has an anti-inflammatory effect;
• helps reduce sweating;
• removes worms from the intestines;
• helps improve digestion;
• has excellent antibacterial properties.

Hyssop honey is an excellent remedy for colds and respiratory diseases.

A decoction of dry hyssop will cleanse the body

Harm

Undesirable consequences are also possible when using hyssop:

• diarrhea;
• spasms.

Such effects can occur with an overdose, as well as in the presence of contraindications for use.

Contraindications

Do not use hyssop in the following cases:

• in the presence of kidney disease;
• during pregnancy and lactation;
• in the presence of epilepsy;
• with individual intolerance.

People with heart disease and increased blood pressure. Due to the intake in large doses, the plant causes spasms, therefore, it is strictly forbidden to use it by pregnant women and patients with epilepsy.

Nursing women are prohibited from taking hyssop due to the fact that the plant contains substances that can reduce lactation or stop it altogether.

Hyssop has a number of contraindications, carefully study them before use!

Butter

Hyssop oil is obtained from the leaves using a steam distillation method. The essential oil has a yellowish-green hue. It is a flowing thin liquid with a sweetish aroma.

Oil is used to improve overall well-being, mood. It increases the stamina of the body and has antiseptic properties. Often used in aromatherapy to calm the nervous system. The oil also increases blood pressure, so it is recommended for hypotensive patients.

In addition to being an excellent antibacterial agent, blue St. John's wort oil helps reduce sweating. It is used by many manufacturers of perfumes and cosmetics.

Hyssop essential oil is very popular with aromatherapists and is used for massage, inhalation and relaxation.

Juice

The juice of the plant is diluted with water in equal proportions and used as a natural deodorant.

Application

In cooking

Due to its unique aroma, hyssop is often used in cooking:

• it is used fresh in salads;
• it is in perfect harmony with vegetables;
• it is served with bean dishes;
• as a spice it is used for meat, fish, poultry and offal;
• the herb is added to teas and a variety of drinks (including alcoholic ones);
• used in fillings for both sweet and savory dishes;
• as a spice, the plant is used in soups, snacks, desserts;
• added to marinades for vegetables and canned food;
• the plant is used in combination with other spices, complementing and emphasizing their taste.

The taste of blue St. John's wort is slightly tart, but with spicy notes. It is cut fresh in salads along with other herbs, and also consumed with cottage cheese.

In crushed and dried form, hyssop will perfectly emphasize the taste of almost any dish. In the preparation of pickles, it also acts as an important spice.

In production alcoholic beverages the plant is sometimes actively used, for example, in liqueurs. Due to its low calorie content, it is also suitable for dietary dishes.

Hyssop, as a seasoning, harmonizes with vegetables, fish and meat

Chicken with hyssop is a very popular Syrian dish.

Hyssop is part of the popular alcoholic drink "Absinthe"

Due to the rather pungent smell, with all the desire to add hyssop to large quantities in a dish is not possible.

Often hyssop is used as an additive to black tea. In combination with honey, the drink will have a divine taste.

Hyssop goes well with other herbs, so you can safely add it to salads without fear of experimentation.

You can make tea from blue St. John's wort, which is also good for medicinal purposes. To do this, take a couple of pinches of grass. They are poured with several cups of boiling water, insisted and filtered. And then consumed with honey 3 times a day.

A few leaves of the plant should be added when preparing poultry dishes, for example, when stewing and baking. The dish will have an unforgettable aroma.

Hyssop and vegetables - a delicious union!

In medicine

Hyssop is used in herbal medicine, as well as in folk medicine.

Its medicinal properties are used in the following cases:

• as an expectorant for coughs, pneumonia, bronchitis;
• for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• to improve appetite;
• to reduce bloating;
• as a diaphoretic for colds;
• as a sedative;
• for fast healing of wounds;
• with bruises and hematomas (as compresses);
• as an infusion for diseases of the teeth or oral cavity;
• to soften the skin.

According to its medicinal effect, hyssop is close to sage. It has a diuretic effect and removes excess fluid from the body. The plant has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. Decoctions from it are effective for conjunctivitis. Hyssop-based lotions help hematomas resolve faster. The plant also has analgesic properties. St. John's wort herb compresses help relieve pain from wounds or cuts.

Medicinal infusion of hyssop will help with toothache and quickly cure bruises and bruises

When losing weight

Hyssop has a slight laxative and diuretic effect, therefore it is used to remove excess fluid from the body. This contributes to a slight weight loss and cleansing of the body.

At home

The domestic use of the plant is quite diverse:

• it is grown for decorative purposes;
• used in cooking to flavor dishes;
• used in herbal medicine;
• used in aromatherapy;
• oil is added to the bath to tone the skin and calm the nervous system;
• used in the alcoholic beverage industry;
• added to perfume compositions;
• used as honey plant.

The recipe for this liquor was invented by the monks, it includes hyssop and over a hundred more herbs.

Women's perfume top notes of hyssop

Be sure to use hyssop in landscape design personal plot

In addition, due to the pleasant smell and disinfectant properties, hyssop was previously used as a kind of air freshener, hanging grass in rooms under the ceiling.

cultivation

• It grows even in harsh winters and is undemanding to environmental conditions if you intend to grow it in the garden. Soil is the main factor for the growth of hyssop - it must be fertile.
• It can grow in the same area for years. The territory where it is planned to land should have a lot of sunlight. The plant is propagated by division, seeds and cuttings.
• With seed propagation, planting should be carried out already in early spring. Between plants there should be at least 0.5 m, and between rows - up to 0.2 m. Planting is carried out at a shallow depth, up to 1 cm. In a couple of weeks, sprouts will appear.
• Seeds can be planted previously in greenhouses, and then seedlings can be transferred to the soil.
• Cuttings can be rooted in summer and spring. However, reproduction in this way is not used very often. The division is carried out in early spring, it will allow young shoots to develop better.
• Sometimes blue St. John's wort is grown even in room conditions right in the pots.
• If the plant is used as a spice, then the collection must be carried out during all summer months. Used for medicinal purposes top part stem. It is cut before flowering and dried.

• Hyssop is mentioned in the Bible. It is believed that the Jews dipped the plant in holy water and sprinkled the believers with it. This was considered a kind of rite of purification.
• In Russia, it began to be grown on the territories of monasteries.
• In the Middle Ages, the plant was used in winemaking.
• It is said that Hippocrates himself used hyssop for medicinal purposes.
• In ancient times, it was believed that the blue St. John's wort has a truly magical properties. The herb was added to smoking mixtures to exorcise evil spirits. They believed that the plant acquires its energy after drying, getting rid of moisture. Hyssop was used to purify a person from evil thoughts.

Hyssop (Hyssópus) is a perennial fragrant grass or semi-shrub of the Lamiaceae family, sometimes a branched shrub 50-60 cm high. The stem is rigid, the leaves are linear oblong, dark green, the edges are omitted. Flowers zygomorphic, blue, white or Pink colour, are collected in apical spike-shaped inflorescences growing from the axils of the leaves.

Each flower blooms for a short time, then a new one blooms. The flowering period is July-August. The fruits are nut-shaped, ripen in September. Hyssop is considered winter-hardy and drought tolerant plant. Propagated by seeds, cuttings or division.

In some places, this plant is called blue St. John's wort. In total, about 50 species of hyssop are known, growing in the south of Siberia, in Asia, regions of the Caucasus, middle lane Russia. The plant is not demanding on soils, prefers the steppe terrain or rocky slopes and gently sloping dry hills.

Useful properties of hyssop

Herbalists deservedly call hyssop the same as St. John's wort - a cure for a hundred diseases.

• The most widely used medicinal properties of hyssop received in the treatment of colds;

• Herbalists advise using it directly to treat colds, bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis and hoarseness in the voice;

• Hyssop helps with stomatitis or other diseases of the oral cavity;

• The antiviral effect of the herb provides tangible help with conjunctivitis;

• Normalizes digestion, improves appetite. Helps with intestinal catarrh, chronic constipation, dyspepsia, flatulence and chronic colitis. And not only relieves all symptoms, but also contributes to a complete recovery;

• Actively fights against bad smell from mouth;

• If you have no contraindications to the use of hyssop, then use funds from it to treat diseases of the heart and blood vessels, angina pectoris, anemia, rheumatism, increased sweating;

• In addition, the medicinal plant is an excellent biostimulant. Your memory will improve significantly, it will be much easier to focus your attention if you just drink tea brewed with a plant;

• Hyssop gently removes the manifestations of depression, while not causing drowsiness - this is its undoubted advantage;

• The diuretic effect of blue St. John's wort will save you from fine sand in the kidneys;

• Grass is a natural natural anthelmintic agent, often used in folk medicine to expel helminths.

External use of products with hyssop:

The disinfectant, wound healing and antimicrobial therapeutic effect of hyssop is used here.

• Purulent diseases of the skin.
• Bruises, bruises.
• Dermatitis.
• Eczema.
• Edema.
• Burn.

Contraindications to the use of hyssop

Before using a medicinal plant, it should be noted that hyssop has a number of contraindications:

• Hyssop is not recommended for people with high acidity;

• Long-term use of infusion with hypotension, nephritis and nephrosis contributes to the appearance of side effects;

• A decoction of hyssop helps to reduce and stop lactation, so pregnant and lactating women are strictly prohibited from taking it;

• The essential oils contained in the plant have a negative effect on the body of people suffering from epilepsy and neuropathy;

• The use of hyssop in the form of a tincture should be discontinued in case of diarrhea and indigestion;

• Children and adolescents should take the infusion with caution, since the oils that make up the plant have a potent effect;

• Children under 2 years of age are strictly prohibited from taking hyssop.

Dosage forms of hyssop

Most often, hyssop is used in medicine in the form of decoctions, tinctures, teas and infusions. Decoctions are usually used to treat respiratory diseases and eliminate inflammation. urinary tract, they help fight colds. Tinctures - for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, they will be especially useful for colitis and swelling, as well as externally for the treatment of hematomas, wounds and other skin lesions. Infusions are used for rinsing the throat and mouth with inflammation of the mucous membranes and stomatitis, with conjunctivitis for washing the eyes, they also improve appetite. Tea is useful for coughs, sore throats and colds. In addition, this remedy improves digestion, increases blood pressure, calms the nervous system and reduces fever.

• Decoction of hyssop. Place 100 grams of dried, chopped grass and hyssop flowers in a liter of boiling water, then boil the composition for about five minutes. Strain the finished product and mix with 150 grams of sugar. You can drink no more than 100 ml of decoction per day, it is advisable to divide this dose into three to four doses;

• Hyssop infusion. Pour 20 grams of the dried plant into a thermos, then pour a liter of boiling water there. After half an hour, the product will be ready, pour it out of the thermos, and then strain. The infusion should be taken three times a day. In this case, a single dose should be half a glass;

• Hyssop tincture. Mix dry white wine (1 liter) with 100 grams of dried herbs. Soak the product for three weeks in a cool, obligatory, dark place, shaking the container with it daily. Take strained tincture three times a day for a teaspoon.

Traditional medicine recipes based on hyssop

1. Bronchial asthma and suffocation can be prevented with the help of infusion, for this you need to take 4 tablespoons of grass, grind it thoroughly, put it in a thermos, pour 1 liter of water, leave for 1 hour. Then strain. You need to take it hot 30 minutes before meals, 1 tbsp. The course of treatment is 1 month.

2. With a disease of the gastrointestinal tract, hyperhidrosis, you can drink such a decoction, this will require a teaspoon of small flowers, leave for 2 hours, take 3 times a day. It is good to wash the eyes with this decoction if they are affected by conjunctivitis.

3. You can cure tinnitus and shortness of breath with the help of powdered leaves, be sure to add honey. You need to take an infusion of 1 tsp. 3 times a day, drink water.

4. If a person is often worried about respiratory diseases, you can apply this recipe - take 2 teaspoons of dried leaves, pour 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes. Take half a glass twice a day. In cases of bronchitis, you need to take a teaspoon of hyssop, add mother and stepmother, pour 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes. Drink 2 times a day.

5. You can overcome a cold with this recipe: mix hyssop with mint, pour 200 ml of boiling water, insist, take 1 cup 2 times a day.

6. Collection of sage, hyssop will help get rid of laryngitis and pharyngitis, for this you need to mix everything thoroughly, pour a glass of boiling water, insist and drink. Take twice a day for one week.

7. A recipe based on hyssop and white wine will help get rid of flatulence and colitis, leave for one month, shake and take.

8. In cases of impaired appetite, you need to take a decoction of hyssop grass, it will require two tablespoons of chopped grass, leave for one hour, strain.

9. Rinse your mouth with gingivitis, stomatitis, you need an infusion of hyssop, it will require 120 ml of alcohol, 20 grams of grass, insist for one week, strain. Take a teaspoon of tincture, dilute it in water, rinse your mouth with it.

Hyssop in cooking

As a spice in hyssop, leaves and the non-woody part of the twigs are used. Hyssop has a spicy, tart and slightly bitter taste and a pronounced aroma, which makes it an important component of many dishes, contributing not only to improving their quality, but also enriching them with useful substances.

In home cooking, fresh leaves and tops of twigs with flowers are used, which are added to minced meats, soups and pates. This seasoning is often used for stuffing sausages and eggs. Hyssop is considered indispensable in the preparation of dishes such as fried pork, stew, beef zrazy. Hyssop goes well with cottage cheese dishes, but it is added to vegetable side dishes and dishes in small quantities and with caution. A very small amount of flowering twigs will add aroma and improve the taste of tomato and cucumber salads. In the countries of the East, hyssop is used even in the preparation of drinks.

If dried hyssop is used (drying leaves and twigs), then you can add them to all kinds of dishes, observing the norms for laying this spice.

Norms for laying dried hyssop greens for one serving of the product:

• 0.5 g of dry green hyssop is added to the first dishes;
• in the second courses - 0.3 g of dried hyssop;
• in sauces add - 0.2 g of dry hyssop.

The secret of cooking dishes with hyssop: after this spice has been added, the dishes do not need to be covered with a lid, because this will spoil the aroma of the whole dish. In any case, hyssop should not be used in large doses, it can be combined with other spices, such as parsley, dill, mint, fennel, celery, basil, marjoram.

Essential oil of hyssop

enjoys great popularity essential oil hyssop. It perfectly calms the "frivolous" nerves, relieves spasms, fights allergies. Women often use it to normalize the menstrual cycle. The oil perfectly relieves meteorological dependence and helps to reduce warts and calluses.

The use of essential oils is also varied. As aromatic baths, in warm water just add 10 drops of oil and 10 minutes of bliss and healing are provided. You should not abuse being in such a bath; since hyssop, although it is a medicinal plant and has enough useful properties, still belongs to the weak poisonous plants, and in certain cases is contraindicated for use.

As inhalations, water vapor is inhaled for 5-7 minutes with the addition of 5 drops of essential oil. Acne, bruises and bruises, warts, eczema, wounds are often smeared with essential oil.

For colds and joint pains, a massage using essential oil will come in handy. To do this, 10 drops of ether are mixed with 20 ml of any oil. plant origin and rubbed into the body. After applying the oil to the body, as a rule, there is a slight tingling or redness of the skin. You don't have to worry about it, it's natural property plants.

Harvesting hyssop

Herbalists advise collecting hyssop during full bloom, at sunrise, in the first phase of the moon - then it has full healing power and will bring maximum benefit.

• Before you cut the grass, be sure to say hello to it and ask permission to collect it. FROM therapeutic purpose cut off flowering tops;

• To properly dry the grass, collect it in small bunches and hang it in a ventilated place, but away from the sun;

• It is better to store hyssop in a hermetically sealed vessel.

In our country, the plant has long been grown under industrial conditions, but they do this mainly to isolate the most valuable essential oil from it.

A light, pure herb, hyssop, which has wonderful healing properties and a minimum of contraindications, regulates the energy of a person as a whole and has a powerful healing effect.

Hyssop(blue St. John's wort) is a plant of the Lamiaceae family that grows in Asia, the Mediterranean, in the south of Siberia, in the Caucasus and in central Russia. Hyssop grows in steppe terrain, as well as on rocky slopes and gently sloping dry hills. There are more than 50 types of hyssop.

Hyssop grows as a highly aromatic herb or shrub. Medicinal hyssop is a branched shrub with stiff branches that grows 50-60 cm in height. Dark green leaves with lowered edges and flowers that grow in the leaf axils are located on a rigid stem. Hyssop flowers can be blue, white and pink. Hyssop begins to bloom in July and ends only in September, when nut fruits are formed.

Usually hyssop is used as fragrant spice, the taste of which has a hint of astringency. From the leaves of this plant, an oil is made, which finds its application in medicine, perfumery and the production of liquors.

The chemical composition of hyssop

In hyssop, as in most herbs, contains essential oil in an amount of 0.3 to 2%, as well as up to 8% tannins of glycosides, diosmin, hyssopin, hesperidin, resins, etc. In the green grass of hyssop, cut even before flowering, there is a lot of ascorbic acid: in 100 g fresh leaves - about 170 mg. Such fresh foliage has bactericidal properties.

Healing properties of hyssop

Hyssop has long been used in folk medicine different peoples. Even in the treatise of Avicenna, it is written that hyssop has an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, analgesic, antitussive and stimulating effect.

Medicinal properties hyssop is widely used in traditional medicine. It is used for heart disease (angina pectoris), neurosis, as well as problems with gastrointestinal tract. Hyssop is used to treat inflammation of the pharynx and oral cavity, with impaired digestion. A decoction of hyssop is indicated for bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, tonsillitis and catarrh of the respiratory tract, it helps to relieve inflammation of the urinary tract. Hyssop is used for rheumatism, conjunctivitis, and also for removing worms. Hyssop is an excellent remedy for excessive sweating.

Gargle with hyssop infusion, it is used for compresses that are applied to bruises, as well as for the treatment of wounds and ulcers that do not heal for a long time.

Hyssop is especially useful in old age, because it strengthens the stomach and stimulates appetite, for this purpose they drink drinks from hyssop.

Official herbal medicine also makes extensive use of hyssop.

The use of hyssop in cooking and its taste

As a spice in hyssop, leaves and the non-woody part of the twigs are used. Hyssop has a spicy, tart and slightly bitter taste and a pronounced aroma, which makes it an important component of many dishes, contributing not only to improving their quality, but also enriching them with useful substances.

In home cooking, fresh leaves and tops of twigs with flowers are used, which are added to minced meats, soups and pates. This seasoning is often used for stuffing sausages and eggs. Hyssop is considered indispensable in the preparation of dishes such as fried pork, stew, beef zrazy. Hyssop goes well with cottage cheese dishes, but it is added to vegetable side dishes and dishes in small quantities and with caution. A very small amount of flowering twigs will add aroma and improve the taste of tomato and cucumber salads. In the countries of the East, hyssop is used even in the preparation of drinks.

If dried hyssop is used (drying leaves and twigs), then you can add them to all kinds of dishes, observing the norms for laying this spice.

Norms for laying dried hyssop greens for one serving of the product:

• 0.5 g of dry green hyssop is added to the first dishes;
• in the second courses - 0.3 g of dried hyssop;
• in sauces add - 0.2 g of dry hyssop.

The secret of cooking dishes with hyssop: after this spice has been added, the dishes do not need to be covered with a lid, because this will spoil the aroma of the whole dish. In any case, hyssop should not be used in large doses, it can be combined with other spices, such as parsley, dill, mint, fennel, celery, basil, marjoram.

Contraindications to the use of hyssop

Self-treatment with hyssop without sufficient experience is impossible. Since in large doses, both when taken orally and in the form of an aromatic essential oil, hyssop can cause spasms, which is why it is strictly contraindicated in patients with epilepsy, as well as pregnant women. With increased caution, people with hypertension should treat the use of this spice.

However, hyssop can be safely used as a spice, because due to its pungent smell and taste, it cannot be added to food in in large numbers, which means that it can not bring harm to health.

In small doses, hyssop will stimulate the body's digestive system and make food easier to digest.

Hyssop is especially good for pickling tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. It can be safely added to sauces, soups, salads, fish dishes and when frying meat. Hyssop will improve the taste of peas and beans. This seasoning is also used in the manufacture of liqueurs, and oriental cuisine even offers fruit drinks with this spice.

Interesting historical fact: in ancient times, in the areas where hyssop grew, it was used in the rite of purification, for which this plant was tied in bunches and, having been soaked in holy water, they sprinkled people, dwellings, objects, and even livestock.

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Hyssop is effective in the treatment of many serious diseases, but it must be used with caution due to a number of contraindications.

A worthy replacement for the universal unpretentious plant, used in medicine and cooking since the 10th century, has not yet been found. Hyssop is indispensable both in the treatment of certain diseases and in the creation of culinary masterpieces.

What is hyssop, what does it look like, what is another name, decoding

- semi-shrub plant, reaching a height of 80 cm, growing mainly in Africa and Eurasia, but also found in the Caucasus.

Numerous stems of the plant have a quadrangular shape, long leaves are planted directly on them, slightly rounded downward along the edges and sharp at the ends. The inflorescences are located above the leaves and resemble collected oblong spikelets with purple, pink or blue corollas.

Hyssop blooms for a very long time, new flowers from spikelets-inflorescences replace each other every 5-7 days. In August, instead of flowering corollas, fruits begin to appear - nut-shaped, trihedral brown seeds.

Hyssop is popularly known as blue St. John's wort, bee grass, sacred grass, susop, hysop, juzefka.

Hyssop reproduces both by seeds and by dividing the rhizome. Transplant and change climatic conditions tolerates well.

Hyssop benefits and harms, medicinal properties, contraindications

Hyssop can be safely called a universal multifunctional plant:

• Unpretentious and decorative, it can decorate rock gardens and front gardens of private houses. At the same time, it easily gets along next to other plants, does not require special care and, having grown well, can play the role of a hedge
• The long and abundant flowering of hyssop, as well as its pleasant aroma, attracts bees, so it can be plant between vegetable beds
• Hyssop is used as an ingredient in the preparation of various folk antitussive, wound healing, antiseptic, antihelminthic agents
• The plant is spicy seasoning and is widely used in cooking.

The plant has medicinal properties due to its unique rich composition. It contains essential oils, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, oleanolic acid and vitamin C. The main medicinal properties of hyssop:

• antimicrobial
• expectorant
• painkiller
• diuretic
• exciting
• antipyretic
• laxative

However, hyssop also has a number of contraindications:

• Overdose of hyssop causes spasms
• Hyssop is forbidden for children, pregnant and lactating women
• Not recommended for hyperacidity of the stomach
• The use of hyssop by hypertensive patients and people suffering from epilepsy and convulsions is unacceptable.

Video: Hyssop Useful properties

Hyssop essential oil, decoction, tea: application

Light emerald-colored essential oil of hyssop with a tart-sweet smell is obtained from the leaves of the plant. It is used when tonsillitis, asthma, bronchitis, rheumatism, depression, nervous exhaustion, stress. Hyssop essential oil also helps to normalize blood pressure.

Rubbing is effective for bronchitis: hyssop essential oil (20 drops) mixed with vegetable oil(40 drops) and carefully rub the chest and back of the patient for 10-15 minutes. Repeat the procedure 2 times a day (morning and evening) until the condition is relieved.

People prone to depression and nervous disorders , should be taken baths with hyssop oil. Add 5-7 drops of essential oil to the bath and inhale its aroma for 7-10 minutes while taking a bath.

Hyssop decoction It is recommended to apply to women in violation of sweating during menopause. Prepare a decoction as follows: 1 tsp. dry grass pour 200 g of boiling water and leave under a tightly closed lid for 2 - 2.5 hours. Then take 3 times a day, 70 g before meals.

Hyssop tea, which has a diuretic effect, drink hot, let it brew for 7-10 minutes.

How to brew hyssop?

The recipe for brewing hyssop depends on the purpose for which the resulting product will be used.

For bronchitis: Dry hyssop flowers (1 tbsp.) Pour boiling water (1 l) and let it brew for 1 - 1.5 hours. Then the infusion is filtered through a fine sieve, sugar (1 tablespoon) is added to it and mixed thoroughly. Drink 0.5 tbsp. 1 time per day.

For colds: Dry crushed leaves and stems of hyssop (1 tsp) are poured with boiling water (1 tbsp.) And infused under the lid for about 2 hours. Take 0.3 liters 3 times a day. In the prepared infusion, you can add sugar, honey and lemon to taste.

Hyssop: use in folk medicine for children from cough

Children over 3 years old are offered a decoction of hyssop twice a day (morning and evening), 100 g before meals. If the child has signs of allergy, you should immediately stop treatment, give an antihistamine and consult a doctor.

How to treat asthma with hyssop?

For the treatment of bronchial asthma it is necessary to drink the infusion of hyssop in a course of 1 month, without interruptions. The infusion is prepared as follows: crushed dry hyssop (3 tablespoons) is poured into a liter thermos with boiling water and after 5 minutes the lid is closed. After 1.5 hours, the infusion is filtered, then poured into a thermos again. Drink hot, 1 spoon before each meal.

IMPORTANT: Regarding the possibility of combining the treatment of asthma with hyssop infusion and other means, you should consult your doctor.

How to use hyssop for hair?

With hair loss and fading, hyssop essential oil is added to the shampoo (or balm). For 15 g of shampoo you will need 2 drops of oil. Regular use of this product will help restore hair and stop hair loss within 1.5 - 2 months. Hyssop oil also helps with dandruff.

IMPORTANT: In no case should you increase the amount of oil in the shampoo. It will not bring benefits, but it can harm.

When to collect hyssop for drying for the winter, how to harvest?

For drying, hyssop is harvested in July - August, cutting off the top flowering shoots. Dry them by laying them out thin layer and avoid direct sunlight and moisture. You can also tie branches of hyssop to dry under a canopy, flowers down.

After drying, hyssop becomes prickly and hard, so it must be crushed carefully.

If hyssop is planned to be used as a seasoning, then it should be cut at the time of the greatest flowering. This herb has the strongest aroma and the ability to improve the taste of dishes.

IMPORTANT: The color of the plant is preserved even after drying, so if you need to make seasoning different colors, you need to dry blue, pink and purple hyssop separately from each other.

It is best to store hyssop in a cotton bag or closed tin cans. However, after 6-8 months of storage, its aroma weakens and disappears.

Those who have the opportunity to land hyssop on personal plot, must do so. This unique plant should always be at hand, as it can come in handy at any time.

Video: Hyssop officinalis

Hyssop grass is a two-in-one plant - and fragrant seasoning to different dishes and a cure for many diseases. The medicinal properties of the herb have been known to our world since ancient times and are used in the treatment of bronchitis, flu and all types of coughs. The fragrant leaves are used in cooking for minced meats, soups, sausages and salads, adding a bit of bitterness to the dish. It is also widely used in the preparation of products in the form of pickles for the winter.

Herb hyssop description and application

medicinal plant is a perennial small fragrant shrub, reaching only 50 cm in height. It has many stems on one root, which end in an abundant inflorescence containing small flowers irregular shape from white to blue. There is another popular name: blue St. John's wort or bee grass.
It occurs mainly in the southern regions in the steppes, on rocky slopes and hills.

Our ancestors knew what hyssop is and its scope, so they used it to treat respiratory diseases, to lower the temperature and as a general tonic.

Hyssop medicinal use in medicine

In folk medicine, healers use tinctures, infusions, decoctions, tea and essential oil from hyssop. The composition of leaves and flowers is rich in vitamins, healing trace elements, flavonoids and tannins. In addition, the leaves contain high performance copper, zinc, calcium and manganese. In medicine, herbal remedies are used both internally and externally. Decoctions are widely used as a prophylactic against colds, seasonal diseases, the benefits of which are evidenced by numerous positive reviews.

Medicinal properties of hyssop officinalis

The unique properties of the medicinal herb hyssop increase immunity and appetite, normalize the digestive process in the body and are used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. skin diseases.

The plant has pronounced properties following direction:

1. anti-inflammatory;
2. antispasmodic;
3. expectorant;
4. antipyretic;
5. wound healing and many others.

Used in gynecology as a tonic for menopause, hormonal disorder and inflammatory processes of the urinary tract.

Despite the benefits of a medicinal plant, it also has some contraindications, harming the human body. Hyssop tincture is contraindicated in children under two years of age, people with very high blood pressure and pregnant women. Children from 2 to 12 years of age are allowed to take drugs with a reduced dose.

Cough tincture - instructions for use

Hyssop tincture for cough has a pronounced antispasmodic effect, has a good expectorant effect, therefore it is used for all types of coughs from the age of two years. The use of tincture during a cough leads to speedy recovery, having an anti-inflammatory effect aimed at reducing the irritating process in the throat. To enhance the effect, add half a teaspoon of May honey to the prepared tincture.

Hyssop tincture on vodka for asthma and bronchitis - recipe

There is the following recipe, tincture of hyssop, which will help get rid of excess mucus in bronchitis, relieve coughing in asthma:

• take 20 grams of chopped dried herbs, pour a glass of vodka, mix well and insist for 7 days, after careful straining, take 1 teaspoon three times a day. The course of admission is about 2 weeks.

Long-term use of tincture can cause allergic reactions, as the plant has a potent effect.

How to brew hyssop herb with menopause

The use of hyssop in gynecology is due to the fact that it is able to restore hormonal balance during menopause. Infusions and decoctions fight excessive sweating and normalize constantly jumping body temperature, resulting in an improvement in the general condition of the body.

brew grass to relieve symptoms of menopause simple enough:

• take 1 tablespoon of chopped dried herbs, pour two cups of boiling water, mix well and leave for an hour, take the strained broth 2 times a day for half a glass a little warm, so the prepared remedy is enough for two days of taking, the rest is stored in the refrigerator .

Is it possible during pregnancy

When using hyssop during pregnancy, contraindications must be considered first. medicinal herb has not only beneficial properties for health, but also contains to some extent toxic substances, therefore it is not recommended to take it inside for pregnant women, but external use does not harm the body of either the mother or the fetus. In inflammatory processes of the skin, it is allowed to use decoctions as antiseptic.

The herb is used for stomatitis, purulent skin formations, inflammation of the eyes and all kinds of wounds.

Medicinal properties of herbs for colds

From ancient times medicinal properties hyssop herbs were used to treat colds. Hyssop is excellent for coughs, runny nose and other respiratory infections. Used to treat such diseases next recipe, which is quite easy to cook at home:

• take 2 teaspoons of dried grass or flowers, pour a glass of boiling water, mix and insist for an hour, drink the strained broth half a glass 2 times a day, or 1/3 cup 3 times a day, the course of admission is 7-10 days.

The prepared decoction is also used to treat problems with the digestive system, rheumatism and excessive sweating. Suitable for the treatment of chronic bronchitis.

Tea with medicinal hyssop - benefits and indications for use

Tea made from medicinal hyssop flowers is used as a tonic for excessive thinness, improving appetite and filling the body. useful vitamins and micronutrients. The benefits of taking this tea are unique properties. Tea has an expectorant effect, while normalizing the processes in digestive system.

You can prepare tea as follows:

• take 2 tablespoons of dried flowers, pour 1 glass of boiling water and leave for about 10-15 minutes, drink a glass several times a day, adding honey or sugar to taste.

Tea made from flowers does not contain toxic substances, so you can drink it without restriction, but not more than one month, then take a break. medicinal tea helps to fight colic and constipation, relieves the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. Decoction can be used to treat wounds and inflammation of the skin.

Useful properties for children

The medicinal plant can be used in childhood starting at two years old. For children from two to 12 years old, reduced doses of drugs are used. In folk medicine, decoctions are often used to increase appetite in children, due to the content of bitterness, which contributes to the rapid digestion of food, thereby causing appetite. Hyssop medicinal use for children, it is acceptable due to the high content of vitamins and rare trace elements contained in the leaves and flowers of the plant, which have a general beneficial effect on the child's body.

For children's cough and bronchitis, only decoctions, infusions and tea prepared from the flowers and leaves of the plant are used.

Hyssop tincture on vodka for tuberculosis - preparation method

Hyssop tincture is prepared for pulmonary tuberculosis according to the following recipe:

• take 20 grams of crushed dried raw materials, pour a glass of vodka or diluted alcohol, mix and infuse for 10 days, take the strained solution in a teaspoon 3 times a day, the course of treatment is about 1 month.

The prepared tincture is suitable for getting rid of helminths.

Planting care and cultivation

The plant is an unpretentious plant in care, but nevertheless loves warm areas and moderate watering. A real find for beekeepers, since the plant is an excellent honey plant and blooms from June to the very end of September, honey from it is not only useful, but also very fragrant. Therefore, beekeepers plant and grow entire plantations of odorous grass on their plots. Planting of plants is carried out by seeds.

For the plant to keep everything beneficial features, you need to know exactly: when to collect, how to dry and how to brew hyssop. Flowers are picked at the moment abundant flowering, the collection of leaves and stems is carried out along with the flowers. The collection and preparation for the winter of raw materials is carried out from July to September, at the time of the most abundant flowering, when the plant contains a maximum of useful substances.

It is necessary to collect raw materials only dry without dew and dry them in well-ventilated areas, preferably on a sheet of paper or natural fabric. Well-dried raw materials are folded into paper bags or stored in a suspended state in the form of brooms.