When other kids of the 1980s drank corn syrup through a straw (Hawaiian Punch) and ate dinners requiring dethawing (Gorton’s fish sticks), Corey MacDonald was opening jars of vegetables her parents canned themselves. She grew up playing in the garden. As a kid, “the entirety of growing food was impressive to me,” the now 41-year-old says. “It was satisfying: You could plant a seed and then you could create something you could eat.”
MacDonald continues her relationship with nature as a certified herbalist, and personalizes tinctures, teas and powders for clients. But knowing not everyone will seek the attention of an herbalist, she wanted to create something for the masses.
In keeping with the food-as-medicine mentality, MacDonald launched Red Root & Co. selling vinegar-based drinks. Forget the nose-stinging distilled variety used to clean bathrooms, and instead think about refreshing, funky, herbaceous, fruity concoctions.
Oxymel, with roots in ancient Greece, features vinegar and honey flavored with select fruits and herbs to correspond with the seasons. As the body needs to prepare for the cold this month, MacDonald’s fall-themed oxymel helps during this transition period with cinnamon, anise, cranberry, fennel, thyme, nettle and other botanicals. Oxymel can be added to tea or cocktails, but is also made with food in mind: incorporate into a marinade or salad dressing or use as a finishing brightener (like a squirt of lemon) on stews or roasted vegetables.
Red Root, launched in the Shenandoah Valley in 2016, also sells shrubs, bitters, elderberry syrup and fire tonic, and MacDonald wild-cultivates or grows some of the ingredients—including hops in her newest bitter, hopnotch—and others are either local, organic or fair trade. // redrootcompany.com
