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Herbs & Cultures

Greco-Roman medicine →

Oxymel with thyme

Honey and vinegar, the classic 'sour-sweet' drink of Greek and Roman physicians.

Traditional use

Time
10 minutes, plus 2 weeks steeping
Makes
A bottle of about 300 ml
Thyme

The name comes from the Greek oxys (sour) and meli (honey). Galen and Pliny describe oxymel; the Romans mixed roughly two parts honey with one part vinegar. Steeping a herb in the oxymel, such as thyme here, is a later folk-medicine habit, but it suits the ancient base well.

Ingredients

  • A handful of fresh thyme (or 2 tbsp dried)
  • 200 g runny honey
  • 100 ml cider vinegar

Step by step

  1. Put the thyme in a clean glass jar.
  2. Stir the honey and vinegar into a smooth syrup and pour it over the thyme.
  3. Close with a glass or plastic lid (vinegar corrodes metal) and leave for 2 weeks, shaking now and then.
  4. Strain into a bottle. Take a teaspoon neat, or dissolve it in a glass of warm water.

Tips

  • Without a herb, just honey and vinegar in warm water, you have oxymel as the Romans knew it.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 98

    Thyme

    Thymus vulgaris

    Traditionally used for coughs and bronchitis; thymol from the oil inhibits bacteria and fungi in the laboratory. There are some studies of thyme-based cough syrups.

    Greco-Roman medicine+4Folklore

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.