RJ Homestead

This year marks a new chapter in our medicinal garden with the introduction of comfrey. We planted six starts, and they have absolutely thrived, growing into large, lush plants with their characteristic fuzzy leaves. As the season progresses, it’s time to start preserving this incredible harvest. Today, we’re making a potent, double-infused comfrey oil that will become the base for a powerful healing salve for all of life’s bumps, bruises, and scrapes.

A Brief History of Comfrey: The Bone-Knit Herb

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) has been a cornerstone of herbal medicine for millennia, earning it nicknames like “knitbone” and “boneset”. Its very name, Symphytum, comes from the Greek word symphyo, meaning “to make grow together”. Ancient Greek and Roman physicians used it to heal wounds, mend broken bones, and stop bleeding. In the 17th century, the famous herbalist Nicholas Culpeper praised its ability to “consolidate and knit together” everything from flesh and sinew to broken bones.

Early European settlers brought comfrey to North America, where its use was quickly adopted by Native American tribes and became a staple in homestead apothecaries for treating injuries, sprains, and sores.

The Remarkable Medicinal Benefits of Comfrey

Comfrey’s legendary healing abilities are largely attributed to two key compounds: allantoin and rosmarinic acid. Allantoin is a substance that promotes cell proliferation, essentially speeding up the natural replacement of body cells and accelerating the healing process. Rosmarinic acid helps relieve pain and inflammation.

For external use only, comfrey is incredibly effective for:

• Healing Wounds and Burns: It helps to quickly close wounds and soothe burns.
• Bruises and Sprains: Its anti-inflammatory properties reduce swelling and pain associated with sprains, strains, and bruises.
• Bone and Joint Health: It’s famously used to support the healing of fractures and to ease the pain of arthritis and sore joints.
• Skin Health: The mucilage in the leaves helps to moisturize and soothe dry, irritated skin.

Important Note: Due to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which can be toxic to the liver, comfrey should never be taken internally or used on deep, open, or “dirty” wounds. It is for external use on clean, closed skin only.

How We Make Our Double-Infused Comfrey Oil

Since this was our first harvest and we were eager to capture the medicine from our fresh, vibrant leaves, we opted for a quick heat-infusion method. Using fresh herbs requires a bit of care to prevent the water content from causing spoilage, and gentle heat is a great way to do this. We decided to double-infuse our oil to create an extra-potent final product.

Here’s our process:

1. Harvest and Prepare: We started by harvesting a generous amount of fresh comfrey leaves from our plants. We gave them a rough chop to increase the surface area and help release their beneficial compounds.
2. First Infusion: We packed a pint-sized mason jar about three-quarters full with the chopped leaves. We then filled the jar with sunflower oil, making sure all the leaves were completely submerged.

3. Gentle Heating: To create a makeshift double boiler, we placed a folded dishcloth on the bottom of a stockpot (this prevents the glass jar from cracking) and set our mason jar on top. We filled the pot with water until it was about halfway up the side of the jar.

4. Simmer and Steep: We brought the water to a gentle simmer over low heat and let the oil infuse for about 6 hours, stirring the leaves in the jar occasionally. We kept a close eye on the water level, adding more as needed.
5. Strain: After 6 hours, we strained the oil through a cheesecloth, squeezing out every last drop of the now beautifully green, infused oil.
6. Second Infusion: To make our oil even stronger, we repeated the entire process the next day. We filled the jar with a fresh batch of chopped comfrey leaves and, instead of plain sunflower oil, we poured our already-infused oil over them. We then let it simmer for another 6 hours.
7. Final Strain and Storage: After the second infusion, we did a final strain. The resulting oil was incredibly rich, dark green, and packed with the healing power of comfrey. We bottled it in a clean, dry jar, ready to be stored in a cool, dark place.

This potent, double-infused oil is now waiting in our apothecary for a rainy day when we have a quiet afternoon to turn it into a soothing and powerful comfrey salve. It’s a deeply satisfying feeling to know that this jar of liquid gold, made from plants we grew ourselves, will be there to help heal our family’s future scrapes, bruises, and sore muscles.

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