Root beer gets its name from the oil extracted from the root of the sassafras tree. If you live in a region where this tree grows in the wild, you may be able to make your own drink from this same plant. Here is how to make sassafras tea.

Strip the bark (or skin) from the roots after they have dried, cutting it slightly into the woody part of the root. The bark is where the tree stores its sap during the dormant, winter months. Store these strips of root skin in airtight containers like zipper freezer bags until ready to use.

It is found in cool damp shady areas in the southern United States. It is a thin tree, usually with few limbs, and leaves that have three unequal lobes opposite the leaf stem. When the sap is(the tree is dormant for winter), the bark and roots have a distinctiveodor when scraped.

Aromatic oil derived from the sassafras root bark was formerly much utilized in flavoring confections, soft drinks, and pharmaceutical products.Such use was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960 after safrole was found to be hepatocarcinogenic (liver-cancer-causing) in the rat.

The original size of the root doesn't matter too much, however, you want to break it down as small as you can for the best results.

After harvesting, they are often dried, either whole or cut into smaller chunks and dehydrated, and then sometimes ground into powder. I've never heard of them being canned, but I'm sure it could be done if someone really wanted to.

Not the leaves, but in high summer when the sap is running, small twigs can be used. It's stronger, though, and you need about three times the water as shown above.

Sassafras trees commonly grow in the edges of fields and clearings, and are considered a nuisance by many farmers, so you may be able to simply ask for permission to harvest them from these areas.

Sassafras is a blood-thinner (AKA: A Detoxification Agent for the Body) Use in small amounts. Make your blood too thin and it will come through the skin. Ask an old farmer and he'll tell you how much.

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