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4.67 from 3 votes

Jewelweed Salve Recipe

This simple salve captures the itch fighting powers of fresh jewelweed. Use it for poison ivy, poison oak, stinging nettles, or chigger and mosquito bites.
Prep Time3 hours
Making the Salve1 hour
Keyword: foraged, jewelweed, salve
Yield: 4 ounces

Equipment

  • scissors, to chop the jewelweed
  • 2 pint canning jars, for the infused oil
  • small saucepan, to use as a double boiler of sorts, for infusing oil and melting salve
  • Canning jar or empty tin can, for melting the salve
  • kitchen scale, for weighing the ingredients
  • a tablespoon, to measure the clay if using

Materials

To Make the Infused Oil

  • 1 cup oil (olive and/or jojoba are nice)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh jewelweed allowed to wilt for a few hours

For the Salve

  • 3.5 oz infused jewelweed oil
  • 0.5 oz beeswax pastilles
  • 1 tbsp white kaolin clay (optional)

Instructions

To Make the Infused Oil

  • Fill a glass jar half-way with chopped, fresh jewelweed, that's been allowed to wilt for a few hours.
  • Pour the oil into the jar, adding more if necessary to completely cover the plant matter.
  • Set the jar down into a small saucepan containing several inches of water.
  • Heat the pan over medium low heat for 2 to 3 hours, indirectly heating the oil and speeding up the infusing process.
  • Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a new heatproof jar.
  • Return the jar of infused oil to the small saucepan, adding more water to the pan if needed.
  • Heat the pan (still filled with a few inches of water in the bottom and containing the jar of strained oil), over medium-low heat for an additional hour to help evaporate out excess water content.

To Make the Salve

  • Combine the infused oil and beeswax pastilles into a heatproof jar or empty tin can.
  • Place the jar/can into a small saucepan containing a few inches of water.
  • Heat over a medium burner until the beeswax is melted, monitoring carefully.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Stir in the kaolin clay if using.
  • If you added clay: Frequently stir the salve as it cools, which will help the clay incorporate into the salve better.
  • If you didn't add clay: Pour the hot mixture directly into salve tins or a jar.
  • Store the finished salve in a cool place, avoid hot areas and direct sunlight.
  • Shelf life of salves is about 9 months to a year.