Sicilian Home Remedies in the old days

Home remedies from your grandma!

Nowadays, we take more or less medicine for everything. People from the 21st century are able to easily take advantage of a different range of medicines, but how our people in the not-so-ancient time were curing some of the most common problems such as a sore throat, or a cold, hypertension or even rheumatism? Discover with us some of the ancient traditions and natural remedies used in Sicily! Protagonists of this article will be garlic, bay leaf, nettle and wild celery. Ingredients that we often find even today on our table, expertly dosed to prepare succulent dishes!

Garlic

Grandmothers call it “agghiu” and put it a little bit everywhere. From the sauce with the tomato to other sauces to accompany second courses.  It was made into wedges and then mixed with oregano and oil to hunt worms in children.

It was also usually ingested raw and whole (to prevent the breath from being affected too much), to keep the blood pressure low and to disinfect the whole organism. Those suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure) could do this: take two cloves of garlic, put them in a glass with lemon juice. Macerate for about 12 hours. For this reason, it is better to prepare everything in the evening. Then, in the morning, drink everything and swallow the garlic. Try to believe, as they say in these cases. Let us know if your pressure also falls!

Note: To remove the taste and smell of garlic try to chew raw parsley or coffee beans.

Bay Leaf

The “addauru” has a wonderful smell. Both in water and as a flavouring in meat, we really love it. In the past, some bay leaves were mixed with lemon peel and parsley in boiling water. After a few minutes, the liquid was filtered and, as desired, sweetened. The stomach ache and indigestion disappeared after a while.

Have you ever tried it?

Bay leaves were also used to decongest the cold-clogged nose. Leaves were beaten with a mortar and then smelled.

Nettle

The ardichedda, the annoying ardichedda, companion of anecdotes of many agricultural workers, was commonly used to treat rheumatism.

The leaves were beaten and then mixed with ethyl alcohol. The paste was then placed on the painful areas. The nettle was also used in the case of chilblains. People were usually boiling some grass in water and then took foot baths or soaked their swollen hands.

And what about the nettle used to fight dandruff?
Even today, many commercial products use the term “nettle shampoo” to treat dandruff. In those days the nettle was soaked in water and then, with that water, people washed their hair. Hair that grew even stronger and healthier.

Wild celery

The accíu sarbaggíu was pounded and then placed on the swelling or swelling to remove the irritation.

Have you ever used any of these remedies or some others that your grandmother taught you? If yes, let us know in the comments!

Sicilian Food Culture