GORSE

An infusion of the flowers was once used as a remedy for scarlet-fever in children, jaundice & kidney stones.

Gorse has been found to have astringent properties & tea is used for treating ringworm, intestinal worms & a cough.

Gorse flower is also used in holistic medicine to address the emotional problem of hopelessness.

RECIPES:

The flowers are edible & can be used in salads, steeped in boiling water for a tea, or turned into wine.

Gorse Wine Recipe:

1.5 l fresh gorse flowers, loose
1 kg sugar
Juice of a lemon
1 cup black tea
yeast
Pick your gorse flowers on a fine sunny day.
Boil these flowers in 2 l of water for 15 minutes & sieve the resulting liquor into a demijohn.
Add the tea, sugar & lemon juice then make up to 4 l with water.
Stir well, until the sugar has dissolved then add the yeast.
Fit an airlock then leave the demijohn in a warm place.
Once the density has reached 1.000 you can stop the fermentation & then clear the wine.
When bottled it should be ready to drink after 3 months, but gorse wine can keep a lot longer.
It should o be about 11% .
Serve the wine chilled.

Gorse Flower Syrup:

500 g gorse flowers
500 g sugar
1 l water
2 limes
1 orange
Grate the rind of the orange & the limes with the fine side of a grater to make the citrus zest.
Boil the water & sugar together for at least 10 minutes, then switch the hob off.
Add the citrus zest, the juice of the orange & limes & the gorse flowers.
Cover & leave to infuse for 6 hours until cool  or overnight.
Once infused, heat very gently until the mixture liquidizes a little again.
Strain the syrup through a muslin bag into another saucepan. Bring the strained syrup quickly to the boil & boil rapidly for 3 minutes.
Pour through a stainless steel funnel into a sterilized, dry bottle & cap immediately.

MAGIC:

Gorse was used to keep witches away.

Ancient use was to sweep curses & hexes away with gorse broom from the door of the house.

Gorse is a good protector against evil. 

In Wales hedges of the prickly gorse are used to protect the home against fairies, who cannot penetrate the hedge.

Gorse is also used in money spells, it attracts gold.