Garlic Salve
garlic salve for coughs and colds.
Yield: 4 2 oz. tins
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Food processor or sharp knife
- Coconut oil
Materials
- 1 head Garlic Chopped/Diced
- 1/3 cup unrefined coconut oil
Instructions
- In a food processor, add garlic cloves to coconut oil and pulse.
- As it pulses, scrape down the edges to make sure it’s well incorporated and smooth. If you have a glass container, add in Essential Oils as it mixes.
- Once the salve is mixed well and is the consistency of body butter, move to a glass storage container or mixing bowl,.
- Store in a sealed glass container.
- To extend the life, store in the fridge of term.
Usage
- Use immediately or after refrigeration. (last for an extremely long time, you can freeze it too)
- Rub paste on bottoms of feet, chest, and back.
- Repeat every 3 hours, until sickness resolves.
Notes
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3874089/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6678835/
- Garlic is a well documented antibacterial, antiviral herb. It packs a punch! Use safely on babies and children of all ages. Food is amazing!
How long will it stay good if stored in the refrigerator? And how can you tell when it has gone bad?
It would grow mold if it has gone bad or smell “off”. I’ve never had it go bad. I usually still have some carry over from year to year and have one now in my refrigerator from a year ago that I would use this year if needed. Garlic is extremely antibacterial and there is very little water in the mixture from the garlic itself to encourage it to spoil. 🙂 you can always make it fresh when needed or freeze it for future use.
I love this recipe but reading all about the botulism risks have scared me. If I freeze immediately after making and scrape out whatever amounts I need each time, how long can this salve last in the freezer ?
I still have a salve from 2020 in my refrigerator that I would definitely use again in 2022.
That being said, I would imagine keeping it in the freezer would extend its life exponentially.
If botulism concerns you, you could make it fresh each time you needed in. To my knowledge,
botulism is not spread through topical contact (of contaminated food), only through ingestion.
Here’s something that put my mind at ease when I first started preparing and canning my own foods – https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/surv/2018/index.html (botulism thankfully seems to be extremely rare in the US).
I hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you so much Corina ! Really put my mind at ease . I’m so thankful for this recipe!