Gin and Raisins

A while back Millie Garfield had a video on her blog "My Mom's Blog" which showed her preparing a "sure fire arthritis remedy". Gin Soaked Raisins. Since I have been having a problem, after I sit for any length of time, with walking and really bad stiffness and some pain , I decided to give Millie's remedy a try, thinking my problem might be arthritis.

I bought some golden raisins and a pint of Gordon's Gin. I put the raisins in a glass jar, just enough to cover the bottom of the jar. I poured in the gin. Just enough to cover the raisins and have about 2 inches of the gin over top of raisins. I shook the mixture and placed it in the refrigerator where it stayed for about a week until the raisins had plumped up and absorbed the gin.

In the meanwhile having the gin in the pantry and deciding that it smelled good and reading that gin is made from juniper berries, I thought, what the heck, I will take a tablespoon of the gin while I wait on the raisins to plump up. Hum, Not bad. Tastes like cough syrup. The next night I got out a small Waterford cordial glass, filled it with crushed ice and put in 2 tablespoons of the gin and sipped it. Not bad. And also the next night too, but added a lemon twist.

Meanwhile I researched the gin and raisins remedy on the internet and I came up with this information:



"Juniper Berries
Aunt Sophie came by a while ago with her secret remedy to vanquish arthritis. Aunt Sophie is, how can I best put it, of a certain age. This is a certain age that often has much in common with walkers, canes and wheel chairs; but Aunt Sophie is in great shape and is full of, as the expression goes, piss and vinegar, or, as I found, in her case, raisins and gin.“Have a few of these, every day,” was her command as she handed me a hand-packed container of her favourite concoction—raisins plumped to almost the size of grapes, redolent and swollen with Beefeater’s best. “Another bubbe-mayse,” I thought, as I munched some—a tale from the old country. But after a little research I decided this one might not be so far-fetched.The flavour of gin comes from juniper berries. These come from conifer plants, evergreens common in Europe and North America. New berries appear in the fall and can take two or three years to ripen. They are rich in vitamin C and terpenes, the essential oil which, in large quantities is manufactured into turpentine. During the Middle Ages the berries were kept in nosegays to help block the scent of the plague. For centuries, medicinal usage favoured using them in anti-inflammatory prescriptions. Hence, perhaps, Aunt Sophie’s arthritis remedy."

So here I am about 10 days later,(crossing my fingers for luck) feeling much better and able to sit awhile and then get up and walk without pain and stiffness.

Is it the gin and raisins.The gin. Or a combination including the 3 Advil a day I also started taking? Or is it just dumb luck?

All I know is, I hope it lasts.

Cheers, Millie