Imagine sitting down to an exquisite meal with all types of dishes laid out before you. Your mouth begins to water, your belly begins to rumble, and you can’t wait to take that first bite. But when you finally get to dig in, the food has no taste. You try a variety of dishes, but they are all the same. There is no taste there. Even though the food is just as nutritious without the taste and you know it will provide the energy you need to continue your day, your entire demeanor has changed. Food is just not the same without the taste.
When the Lord created us, one of the great pleasures He allowed us to partake in was the tasting of the foods and medicines He provided for us. He created taste buds on our tongues that distinguish sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory) tastes from one another. The foods and medicines we consume are a mixture of these tastes packaged differently in each one.
While our appetites might delight in the tastes of our foods, taste also serves a greater purpose in our lives that most people are not aware of. Each of these tastes give us a clue about the properties of food and herbs.
For much of the population throughout history, written herbals have not been available. Herbal knowledge was often passed down orally through each generation. But what if this information was unavailable to a people group? There were several methods that were used to determine which plants were edible or medicinal.
- People would often observe the interactions of animals with the plants. Did the animals eat the plants? Did the animals roll in the plants or lay in them? What happened when they did?
- Many people throughout history utilized the Doctrine of Signatures. This was the belief that when God created the plants, He gave them “signatures” or properties that would let people know what they were to be used for. These signatures might be the colors of the flowers, the shape of the plant, or the place where the plant grows. For instance, the leaves of the milk thistle plant are green with white veins that are in the pattern of lobules resembling the liver. Interestingly, milk thistle is a strong liver tonic.
- Once someone knew that a plant was safe for consumption, they could often tell a lot about the uses of the plant based on the taste of the plant.
The Herbal Tastes
When using taste to help determine the use of an herb, you will find that herbs often have more than one taste. Usually the taste that comes to you first is the primary taste and denotes the primary action of the plant. The “aftertaste” or taste that lingers is usually the secondary taste and denotes the secondary actions of the plant. Rarely does a plant have more than two tastes, although there are exceptions. Schizandra berry is often referred to as the “five-flavored berry” because it contains all five tastes.
While there are technically five different tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami), there are other sensory properties called “mouth feels” that also give us clues about a plant’s properties. These would include pungent, aromatic, acrid, astringent, and mucilaginous. I won’t be covering the umami (savory) taste. It is the taste of the amino acid glutamate and while plants can contain the taste (think about the taste of a vine ripened tomato), this taste has not been traditionally used in herbal medicine.
Sweet – I’m sure you can guess what most people consider their favorite taste! The Bible makes many references to “sweetness” indicating that it is a good and pleasant thing.
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24
Sweet herbs are generally warming and moistening and have an affinity for the digestive system. They are strengthening to the lungs and mucus membranes, nourishing, immune stimulating, and promote the assimilation of nutrients. Most sweet herbs have a secondary taste of bitter. I believe that the bitter aftertaste is what stimulates digestion to help absorb the nourishment of the sweet herb. Many sweet herbs are also adaptogenic, helping the body deal with stressors.
Our sweet herbs include: licorice, stevia, astragalus, maca, American ginseng, Asian ginseng, sweet cicely, and fennel.
Salty – When we speak of the salty taste in a plant, we are actually talking about a salty-mineral taste. The salty flavor is cooling and drying, and has an affinity for the kidneys and bladder. Water tends to follow saltiness and many of our salty herbs are lymphatic herbs that help to move lymphatic fluid out of the body. Salty herbs usually possess diuretic properties, but because of the high mineral content of salty herbs they don’t deplete the body of electrolytes (mainly potassium) like pharmaceutical diuretics do. Salty herbs strengthen the urinary system and support healthy teeth, hair, nails, and skin.
Our salty herbs include: nettles, oatstraw, alfalfa, dandelion greens (early gathered), horsetail, self-heal, red clover, burdock root, cleavers, chickweed, and violet leaf.
Sour – Sour herbs generally support the liver and gallbladder and are cooling and drying. Things that are very sour such as lemons/limes, vinegar, and fermented foods stimulate gallbladder peristalsis, leading to the secretion of more bile which helps the body absorb fat soluble nutrients. Mildly sour herbs and foods are high in antioxidants and are excellent supportive herbs for strengthening capillaries and the eyes.
Sour herbs and foods include: blueberries, bilberries, amla, rose hips, hawthorne, and hackberries.
Bitter – Bitters are plants that leave a distinct bitter taste in the mouth. That bitter taste is important. Your taste receptors need to actually taste the bitterness in order to start the cascade of beneficial actions in the body. The bitter flavor can be found in mild, nutritive plants such as salad greens or in the more intense flavored medicinal herbs.
The most prominent action of bitters is in stimulating digestive secretions including saliva, stomach acids, enzymes, hormones used in digestion, and bile. These secretions break down food for absorption and free up minerals for assimilation. Blood sugar levels are supported through stimulation of the pancreas while bile produced by the liver and excreted by the gallbladder helps to remove toxins from the body. Bowel transit time is also decreased with the aid of the lubricating bile, reducing constipation. The entire digestive tract is nourished and toned as we consume bitters in our daily diets.
Bitter herbs include: gentian, artichoke leaf, dandelion root and leaf (summer harvested), angelica, fenugreek, orange peel, turmeric, and elecampane.
Mouth Feels
Pungent – Pungent herbs are either hot and dry or cold and dry. Hot and dry pungent herbs have a direct action upon the lungs, large intestines, and circulatory system. They often enhance circulation and support the body against bacterial and viral invaders. The diaphoretic action of pungent herbs causes us to sweat. They also serve as expectorants aiding the body in moving out excessive mucus from the lungs. Cold and dry pungent herbs are also expectorants and support against bacterial and viral agents.
Pungent herbs include:
[hot] cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger, horseradish, juniper berry, osha, black pepper,
[cold] eucalyptus, menthol, camphor, bee balm, tea tree, echinacea, and spilanthes.
Aromatic – Aromatic herbs are warm and dry and are excellent carminatives that help the body move out gas. They also help to brighten a person’s disposition and outlook and they support memory and brain health.
Aromatic herbs include: most mint family herbs (peppermint, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, lavender, holy basil, catnip), damiana, St. John’s wort, and saffron.
Acrid – Acrid herbs are cold and drying herbs. They cause an irritating feeling in the back of the throat. Acrid herbs are antispasmodic and used to support cramping, sprains, strains, and other discomforts.
Acrid herbs include: lobelia, black cohosh, kava, wild yam, skunk cabbage, Jamaican dogwood, corydalis, black haw, and cramp bark.
Astringent – There is another category of sour herbs and these are the astringent herbs, which tighten and tone tissues and reduce dampness in the body. Astringent herbs can be used to support the body anytime there is excessive fluid loss and low tone in the tissues. Depending on how astringent a plant is, they should only be used for shorter amounts of time. Overuse can often lead to dryness in the body.
Astringent herbs include: most rose family herbs (peach leaves, rose petals, blackberry leaves, raspberry leaves, lady’s mantle), partridgeberry, agrimony, oakbark, witch hazel, and bayberry.
Mucilaginous – Mucilaginous herbs become slimy and demulcent when soaked in cold water. They are often used as bulk laxatives, helping to stabilize blood sugar, enhance local immune response in the gut and throat, and are soothing to irritated dry tissues.
Mucilaginous herbs include: slippery elm, marshmallow, psyllium seed, comfrey, chia seeds, and Irish moss.
Taste the Herbs
The next time you take an herbal supplement, take time to really taste the herb and try to determine the taste of the herb. As you do this more often, you will be surprised by how much you can learn about a plant’s actions by simply tasting it.