Apothecary
Calendula Oil & Salve
Summer flowers steeped in oil on the windowsill, then set with beeswax into a simple salve for hands and skin.
This is the first thing I ever made from my own garden, and still the one I would keep if I could only make one. Calendula flowers are picked all summer, dried, and steeped in oil for a month on a sunny windowsill. Then the golden oil is strained and set with a little beeswax.
The result is a plain, soft salve that lives by the sink for dry knuckles and in my bag for the small scrapes of children and gardening. Read more about the plant in the calendula notes.
Calendula Oil & Salve
You will need
For the infused oil
For the salve
Method
Fill a clean, completely dry jar about two-thirds full with dried calendula heads. Pour in oil to cover them by 2–3 cm, pressing the flowers down so none float above the surface.
Cover the jar with a square of cloth or a lid and leave it on a sunny windowsill for four to six weeks, giving it a shake every day or two.
In a hurry? Instead, stand the open jar in a pan of water over the lowest heat for 3–4 hours. The oil should stay warm, never hot.
Strain the oil through muslin, squeezing the flowers hard. Let it settle for a day, then pour it off any sediment.
For the salve, melt the beeswax and 200 g of the oil together in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.
Test the set: dip a cold spoon in the mixture and put it in the freezer for a minute. Too hard, add a little oil; too soft, a little wax.
Stir in the vitamin E if using, pour into clean tins or jars, and leave uncovered until set. Label with the date.
Notes
Keeping: the salve keeps for about a year somewhere cool and dark. The oil alone keeps a little less.
Firmer or softer: a 5:1 oil-to-wax ratio gives a soft salve; 4:1 is firmer and better for lip tins.
Adding scent: I leave mine plain. If you add essential oils, research their safety, especially for use on children.
Plants in this recipe