Indeed, it’s a matter of opinion. There is a trend people put faith on the “healing power” of organic products. Naomi is a skeptical type so that I don’t take the words, like “natural such-a-such can heal your problem of diabetics, cancer, high blood pressure, et al,” at its face value. Having said that, I personally feel organic veggies and meat are more tasteful than the sprayed or eating-antibiotics kinds. Wondering why, I guess less-chemically treated foods could preserve their natural components without the effects of synthetic materials. Along the same line of thought, organic food may keep potent elements that can be ingredients for cancer pills, or anti-COVID vaccines. Taking them would bring some kind of health benefit + yummier joy, I suppose. The case in point for this week’s post: extracted enzyme from wild plants.
One of
my seniors of Niiharu Lovers told me. “I love enzyme extract from wild plants,
When I feel tired, I always take it with tea. Naomi, I tell you it certainly
has healing power!” Hmmmmmmmm. “Besides, it’s easy to make. I bring you next
week a book that tells us how to make it.” So, she lent me book, “Living with Wild
Grass: wild grass recipes to sustain body and mind 草と暮らす：こころと体を整える雑草レシピ” by Yoko Kawashima かわしまようこ (Seibundo-shinkosha, 2016; ISBN9784416616321). Inside, Kawashima explains how to make enzyme extract from wild
plants. The way to make it is simple. Collect plants, wash them in pure water,
cut them, mix them with sugar, and ferment plant-sugar mixture for 7-10 days in
a clean jar. Kawashima’s points are
1. While
we collect wild plants, we should humbly thank the mother nature. If possible,
choose early morning of full-moon for the operation, as this is the time the
power of moon concentrate on the leaves of plants,
2.
Preferably, water is from spring in deep mountains, not tap of chemically
treated water,
3. When
we mix the plant and sugar, we should use our cleaned hands, massaging the
ingredients gently, and silently chant our gratitude to the nature. If you have
good friends, please mix it together, always appreciating the love they give
you, and
4. Never think something negative during the cooking; otherwise, the extract becomes bitter with lesser potency.
Er …
it’s like a process of religious gathering ... I mentally negotiated with
Kawashima’s suggestion for the urban constraints of Yokohama. Thank God
(Buddha, Allah, Mother Nature … please pick your affiliation), mine does not
become bitter. Here is how I made enzyme concoction from wild plants.
First, collecting plants. Kawashima says spring or autumn is the time. Whichever season, we can thank nature and collect wild plants from clean field. For autumn, she suggests obtaining roots as well. Though, I have a reservation to this approach. When we dig the roots of perennials, it won’t come back next year, right? So, this fall, I only collected leaves, flowers, and/or stems of Japanese mugwort (Artemisia princeps Pampanini), Canadian clearweed (Pilea pumila), Oriental lady’s thumb (Persicaria posumbu), Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba), and Isodon inflexus. Those are edible plants in some form or the other so that I surmised they were safe. So far, I did not have any problem tasting enzyme extract from them so that my choice was OK, I guess. Oh, my schedule did not allow full-moon day for gathering the grass. My enzyme may have lesser potency …
 |
| A
field of Canadian clearweed and Oriental Lady’s thumb. I don’t tell you where, but it’s in Yokohama. |
Next, washing them. As Kanagawa Forest Instructor, I know natural water even harvested in deep Tanzawa mountains 丹沢, could have poops of wild animals, and/or rich ecosystem of aquatic living things. I rather mind eating fragments of larva of crane flies, or boar-pee tonic. So, I decidedly used running tap water that was treated in water supply system of Yokohama which purified the supply from Doshi River 道志川 by the latest technology. Yay!
Washed
grass, with tap of water.
Third,
cutting them to mix gently with sugar by hands. I used very simple and popular
sugar available from ordinary supermarket. Actually, Kawashima recommends this.
Japanese ordinary sugar is refined enough, but does not go extreme like
granulated or caster sugar. When we mix it with wild grass by hands, the normal
bacterial flora, which exists on our palm even after strong-wash with soap, decompose
sugar into glucose and fructose. These in turn encourage the cut plants to be
fermented by bacteria powered up by broken down sugar. I guess caster sugar can
do a similar trick, but it may take longer for the plants to be fermented.
Ubiquitous
package of sugar in Japan.
It’s slightly moister than caster sugar.
Kawashima
says using brown sugar is not recommended
as its flavor can interfere the taste
of wild grass enzymes.
I imagine the extracted enzyme with brown sugar
has its
own flavor.
If you like, please try.
 |
| A bowl
of wild grass with sugar. The amount of sugar is the same as the grass, or slightly more. |
Forth, mixing the mixture once a day by hands … er, I did cheat. I mixed the sugar-grass thing once a day, yeah, but not necessarily by hands. I confess: my jar has a bit small mouth so that putting my hand in it was rather hard. In the end, I fermented the mixture for 10 days, but mixed the contents by hand only twice, and the rest with wooden (er, no, bamboo) spoon. Using hands has meaning to add more bacterial flora into the concoction during the fermentation. Mine may not have received enough boost … It started to emit bubbles of zymolysis on the 7th day. I followed Kawashima’s recipe to store the jar in a dark corner of my house. Granted, it was already in November, and my method for daily mixing did not help to speed up the cooking … The process must have been slow.
My
mixture in a jar.
It was hard to jumble them by putting hand in it.
No
matter. By the 10th day, the plants turned their color. Kawashima
said max 10 days of fermentation would be enough so that I strained the mixture
on the 10th day. According to the book’s recommendation, we should
not squeeze the fermented plants, but leave them on the strainer and wait
gravity does their work for dripping the enzyme. So, I left it on the sieve
overnight, then filtered the extract by paper towel.
The 10th
day. Enzyme syrup is dripping … 
The
paper towel after straining had this much of dregs.
It would be a matter of
opinion,
but I imagine leaving them may affect the shelf life of syrup.
Although I did not do the ritual of cooking enzyme extract as recommended, I found the simple process itself is very soothing. Maybe, some needs praying and chanting, but the others, like me simpleton, can enjoy the offering from the forest in whatever routine. The enzyme extract has sweet herbal taste. Unlike herbal tisane, its taste is not so strong even with lots of mugwort. It maybe easier to enjoy flavor this way. If you have any chance to make it by yourself, please try. If you like you can add your way of thanking somebody beyond … it’s very relaxing conversation with the forest.
Wild
grass enzyme extract.
Kawashima says there is no strict “best by” date for
this.
But it’s not much.
I doubt I have it next March … 😋
Oh, by
the way, this week’s enzymes are a kind of protein which can be destroyed by 40°C (or up) heat. We have to enjoy it with
lukewarm tea or water. The strained plants can be composted or used with bath
salt for your spa. It is said that the extract can also be utilized for body
massage. Er, my concoction is not much in quantity. So, I treasure them simply
tasting them with tea, little by little. It’s cold here, difficult to make additional
extract until spring, you know? Anyway, we have to persevere this winter with
COVID. Organic enzyme extract may help boosting my immune system …
If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター
657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121 厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323
You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/
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