sass - answer back in an impudent or insolent manner; ----- Original Message ----- From: "jean waterloo" <waterloj@massnet1.net> To: "Pat Cook" <paver207@yahoo.co.uk>, eng-lincsgen@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 1:54:18 PM Subject: [LIN] Sass Love the letters!!!! How about SASSAFRAS for tea? My dad would stop the car, jump out and go down the ditch and up to the fence row and dig some sassafras roots. Dried, it made wonderful tea. As I recall it tasted like rootbeer. Jean in Michigan, USA ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-LINCSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank you to Jean, Lou and 'apoleary'  for their explanations. It looks as if 'Sassafras' is the correct answer, used for making root beer or root flavoured tea. Dorothy mentions it is garden produce, so not the impudent reply in this case. Never heard of it in England, we apparently used to make 'Nettle Tea' from Nettles gathered in the fields and hedgerows, I am sure a herbalist could tell me what we use in UK for making a similar beer. I used to love 'Dandelion and Burdock' lemonade, which was made from garden plants and weeds. Pat

Pat, you might recognize it as sarsaparilla (pronounced SASS-pah-rilla). While both are key ingredients of old-fashioned root beer and are different, the terms have almost become interchangeable. We have several Sassafras trees growing on our property and the aroma is absolutely heavenly when we toss the downed twigs on a bonfire. Tea is made from the root bark (ideally. I know people who just use the bark, but I don't like it). Root beer today is made from an extract from China that is not sassafras, as sassafras oil was banned by the FDA for causing liver damage. Why is it that if it tastes good it's bad for you? Happy time travels! Susan On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 6:21 PM, Pat Cook <paver207@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Thank you to Jean, Lou and 'apoleary' for their explanations. > > It looks as if 'Sassafras' is the correct answer, used for making root > beer or root flavoured tea. Dorothy mentions it is garden produce, so not > the impudent reply in this case. > > Never heard of it in England, we apparently used to make 'Nettle Tea' from > Nettles gathered in the fields and hedgerows, I am sure a herbalist could > tell me what we use in UK for making a similar beer. > > I used to love 'Dandelion and Burdock' lemonade, which was made from > garden plants and weeds. > > Pat > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ENG-LINCSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >