Making Calendula Cream

Calendula Flowers

These amazing flowers, wonderful little circles of sunshine, are a favourite for gardeners and health enthusiasts alike. In the vegetable garden they help ward of pests and do a great job of keeping the pesky carrot fly away. The petals are great for your skin. I add them fresh into salads, a bright splash of colour. I dry them and add them into my baking, particularly into sour dough bread.

I thought I would have a go at making calendula cream; maybe it will be useful for my pregnant ladies for stretch marks and for my gardening friend’s hands.  

I was inspired by a recipe of Sarah Raven (How to Make Your Own Calendula Cream) and also a friend Kerry Jeffrey who has been making the most gorgeous soaps and creams (https://www.facebook.com/kezzerswift). I harvested 200g of flowers from my garden, so here is the recipe for that amount of blooms, feel free to scale up or down. Have plenty of sterilized coloured pots with lids ready to store the post. All the other ingredients I bought easily online.

Ingredients

  • 200g fresh picked calendula flowers
  • 280g emulsifying ointment
  • 160g glycerine
  • 160g water
  • Essential oils of your choice.

Method

  1. Rough chop the flowers
  2. Heat together emulsifying ointment, glycerine and water in a ceramic bowl over a pan of boiling water.
  3. Add the flowers, stir.
  4. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and leave the mixture to seep and heat and work its magic for 3 hours. Keep checking the water levels in your pan.
  5. Pour the whole lot into a jelly bag and let the liquid drain into another ceramic bowl.
  6. Place your strained mixture into the pots.
  7. You will be left with a mass of moisturising flower petals which I also potted up. I will use this as a scrub with a sponge in the shower, or as a face mask.
  8. I do hate waste, so all the bowl and jelly bags scrapings I fed to the hens (think lovely yellow yolks), they loved it.
  9. I decided to add the essential oils as I go along so I can change them according to my needs. However I have just potted up some as a gift with Neroli, Orange, and a bit of Patchouli – it smells divine.

I hope this inspires you to grow and use these wonderful bright sunshine flowers, gifts from nature.

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Categories: Wellbeing