Thursday, June 4, 2009

White Clover Tea






White clover is very under appreciated. Sure you remember making cute little flower necklaces and head wreaths as a little girl. Most of us are fond of sweet clover honey but have you ever considered a hot cup of tea made from clover flower heads and leaves? It is the most wonderful, flavorful tea I have ever enjoyed, add a little sugar or honey and indeed you will never look at this cute little flower the same again!
White clover also has several health benefits as well! According to the "Peterson Field Guide of Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs" American Indians adopted leaf tea for colds, coughs , fevers and leukorrhea. In European folk medicine, flower tea is used for rheumatism and gout. Like Red Clover, and probably most clovers, White Clover contains the estrogenic isoflavone genistein, with a multitude of activities, including cancer-preventative and antioxidant activity.
To make tea: 1. Pick fresh flowers and leaves.
2.Rinse
3. Place in tea kettle or tea posy or small pot with water.
4. Heat to almost boiling.
5. Strain into tea cup add sugar or honey if desired and enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. I'm very glad to find your post. I have lots of white clover in our field and wondered if I could use it for something. Do you suppose it could be dried and used later?

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  2. I took that picture of the clover (the one with the small blade of grass in front of it.) Thank you for using it!

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  3. The white clover flower must be completly dry then put into a container and can be used later

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  4. Hello fellow home school mom...(My kids are now grown too)..Thanks for this. Please keep writing...I am a naturalist / wildcrafter and writer and sometimes writing blogs is like shouting into the Grand Canyon...it's hard to believe sometimes, but there are people out there reading this...I'm becoming a follower. I've been eyeing my white clover for a long time...always using red, but somehow the white became underappreciated as you said.
    Be well...

    PS Check out my blog...we have a lot in common!
    http://mjpettengill.blogspot.com/

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  5. Hi, I found your blog when searching for uses of white clover. This year I've been making more jams and jelly's from flowers and since we have so much white clover in our yard, I wondered if it too could be made into jelly. I've seen recipes for red but not white clover. Have you, or anyone else, made white clover jelly?

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  6. Thanks so much for posting this. I am trying to eat and buy locally so I am doing my best to see what can be supplimented by foraging. Thanks so much for this. sincerely, Deb

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  7. What part of the clover is sweet? I thought that chewing on the flowers was sweet but I haven't noticed that.

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  8. Kettles can often times develop build up from moisture when used often. Some kettle pots are made out of ceramic and can help to prevent any dirt or build up from occurring inside the pot. electric teapot

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