Calamus root, (Acorus calamus) it is also known as Calmus, Sedge, and Sweet Myrtle. It is a wonderfully spicy, aromatic and very cinnamon-like fragrance that has been enjoyed for at least The Epic of Gilgamesh where it is mentioned as an ingredient in incense. It is also mentioned in the Bible as one of the ingredients of the anointing oil in Exodus 30:23. The Egyptians also used it for Kyphi recipes.

When reading a book about medieval times, I discovered that it was also called “spreader herb” because people at that time, well, they “spread” it on their floors along with pennyroyal and lavender to help with insect problems. I thought that was cool and it would be great in modern times, except that your floor would look like a bar. Still, next time I go camping, I think I’ll throw some on the tent floor. It may not control mosquitoes, but it will smell wonderful.

Since the aroma is warm, spicy, woody and very reminiscent of cinnamon, it works very well with the following ingredients. Cedar, Myrrh, Patchouli, Borneol Camphor and Benzoin.

Although it’s complicated, here’s a wonderful Kyphi recipe featuring Calmus.

4 incense shares

2 parts of putty

1/2 part juniper berries

1/4 part Calmus

1/4 share of Galangal

1/2 part cardamom

1 part cinnamon bark

1 part myrrh

1 part lemongrass

1/2 part rose leaves (dried rosebuds)

1 part Siam benzoin

1 1/2 part sandalwood

Pinch of Aquillaria wood

1/2 part of honey

Spoonful at a time of rich red wine

8 parts of Sultana grapes, without sulfur.

Soak the raisins overnight in red wine and pulverize the frankincense, myrrh, putty, and benzoin with a mortar and pestle. Individually spray cinnamon, juniper berries, calmus, galangal, cardamom, and sandalwood. Mix all the ingredients and chop the lemongrass and crumble the rosebuds. Use 1/2 teaspoon of aquillaria wood in 1 cup of this mixture. You can do without the aquillaria wood if it is not available to you.

Remove the raisins from the wine and blend everything together with a blender to pulverize it then use the honey to add to the mixture so that you get a substance similar to a dough that you can knead well and easily. You can crumble it on your palms and let it dry (turning it often for 7 to 14 days) or you can roll it into pea-sized granules as the Egyptians preferred and allow to dry as above.

Congratulations, it is one of the most complex and difficult recipes of ancient times, but it is worth the effort.