Sassafras afternoon tea tastes a little like beginning beer with a citrusy construction . It ’s been years since I ’d had it , but , with plenty of sassafras trees on my land , I ’d been thinking about brew myself a loving cup .
However , I ’d heard sassafras tea was grievous . Did someone say cancer ? And was it even legal anymore ?
The Root of the Problem
Sassafras got its dim eye in the sixties when research suggested one of its participating ingredients — safrole — produced malignant tumors in rats . Even though safrole was once a uncouth seasoning agent , the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationbanned its use .
Safrole is also include in the most recent U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesReport on Carcinogens .
To perplex issue , safrole is a key ingredient for the fabrication of the illicit drug Ecstasy . So , if I make my own sassafras teatime , does that mean I ’m messing with party drug precursors?Susan Brackney
Not-So-Strange Brew
“ Sassafras afternoon tea is not illegal , ” say Samuel Thayer , anexperienced foragerand the author ofThe Incredible Wild Edibles : 36 plant That Can vary Your Life .
“ Sassafras or excerpt of it are illegal , if you are sell itprimarilyas a source for safrole . ”
He ’s also quick to point out that sassafras tea is not safrole . Although safrole is a chemical which can be pull up from sassafras , Thayer remark , “ As far as we know , in traditionally fain sassafras brew , there is n’t any safrole … .
Susan Brackney
“ I ’ve interviewed several dozens of mass who take to make sassafras tea traditionally — mean not from a playscript but from an sr. generation . Almost always there ’s a long boil process — not a unforesightful steeping . ”
Because safrole is not high temperature stable , it break down into disjoined ingredient during foresightful boils . Boil it in a pot without a lid and the fickle chemical substance further dissipates via steam .
On the contrary , if you steep sassafras etymon only in short , your lead tea leaf is much more potential to contain safrole .
Rethink “ weeds ” and save saplings to develop future trees .
How To
I had a sassafras tree sapling soda up aright along the fence bound my apiary . ordinarily , I ’m happy to see unpaid worker trees , but this one could n’t continue where it was .
I decided to stab it up and make a batch of sassafras Camellia sinensis . Wanting to reduce — or even egest — any safrole , I follow Thayer ’s instruction as closely as I could .
After unearthing the small Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , I washed its roots in cool water and let them dry out in the Dominicus . Next , I split the roots from the rest of the tree and carved them into smaller segments .
Susan Brackney
I placed these in a pan of water and brought it to a vigorous boil . I let it boil for about 40 minutes . ( Thayer boils his for up to an hour at a sentence . )
For his part , Thayer gets about four different boilings out of one set of theme . I ’ll get about three from mine . err on the side of caution , I put away much of the first goat god of boiled tea leaf , as it still might have contained some safrole .
But even this measure was probably unneeded .
“ I ’m not going to say that safrole is n’t carcinogenic or that there is n’t potential to have a carcinogenic effect [ in human beings ] with safrole , ” Thayer says . “ But real scientific evidence … is incredibly flimsy . ”
That ’s because when researchers tested the effects of safrole on animals in the sixties , they used very gamy dosages over long periods of time .
“ A human would have to drink many , many gallons a solar day of sassafras brew to get that dosage , ” Thayer says . They ’d have to drink in even more if the tea were preparedusing traditional methods . Susan Brackney
Foraging Double Standard?
Nevertheless , if you have an implicit in medical condition , take medication for one , or if you have limited dietary limitation , you might want to consult your Dr. or druggist before filling up your own cup . At least that ’s what articles like this one usually say .
But Thayer gave me more to think about in this regard . “ This is part of what we call the ‘ foraging double criterion , ' ” he says . “ If there is any vexation about a idle food , it must be mentioned . Similar trouble about domestic foods are not note . ”
type in point ? starring fruit , Citrus paradisi and fava noggin are just a few domestic food that can be deadly for hoi polloi with certain health issues .
After my boiling tea cool down , I removed the roots and saved them for late reuse . Then I poured the orangey liquid into a glass , bring a pinch of love and some ice , and sipped .
There was the beginning beer , the citrus fruit , and something extra sweet-scented — remembering of Grandma and simpler days .
