Posted in Herbs
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Good Afternoon,
I plan to share some information on herbs as I can. I have had many years of informal study and use of herbs, dating back to the 70's. About 4 yrs ago I did some formal study by enrolling in The Science and Art of Herbalism by Rosemary Gladstar. Today I'd like to share how you can make your own tinctures at home and save a LOT of $ by doing so.
MAKING HERBAL TINCTURES by Fern Guyer
One of the ways we can use herbs is by making Tinctures. The benefit of tinctures are many. They take up a lot less room than bulky herbs. They will keep for many years (up to 10 in most instances) while dried herbs (leaves and flowers) will only last for about 1 year. Roots, barks, seeds, will keep for approximately 2 yrs. All herbs need to be stored in a cool, dark place, preferably in glass jars with tight fitting lids.
Since we can see that herbs, once dried and stored, have a limited shelf life, you will begin to see the advantages of making herbal tinctures to prolong the use of your herbs.
In order to extract the medicinal properties of herbs, they must be macerated in a solvent. A Solvent is what's used to extract potent chemical constituents from plant matter. Four common solvents used are Water, Vinegar, Alcohol and Glycerin.
Today we will address the use of alcohol. Other than water, this is my preferred method for extracting the medicinal properties from herbs. You can use 40% alcohol for most dried herbs.
Take some dried herbs (fresh can be used as well, and I will touch on that later), and fill a jar about 1/4 full. Then add alcohol until the herbs are completely covered. I like to then top it off about 1-2" more. Cover. You can put some saran wrap on top before putting the lid on. Shake well. The dried herbs may absorb some of your alcohol so you may need to add more. Be sure to keep the herbs covered by at least 1". Shake daily at least once. After 4-6 weeks, your tincture is ready to use.
Now strain the herbs and squeeze out the excess alcohol from the herbs. I like to use a mashed potato press lined with cheesecloth. I then like to use a coffee filter to filter out any fine matter. Now your tincture is ready to bottle up. Be sure to label your jar with tincture, solvent used, and date.
FRESH HERBS
When using fresh herbs, I like to lay them out on either a screen, or on paper towels for a day or two. This will allow some of the water in the plant to evaporate reducing the chance of mold forming once the fresh herbs are introduced to your solvent. You can then finely chop the fresh herbs and put into alcohol, making sure they are completely covered. When using fresh herbs, I like to use Everclear, which is 75% alcohol. Then continue on as you would for dried herbs, shaking daily.
Tinctures can be used for your family and for your pets and can be stored for many years. It is a wonderful sense of accomplishment to be able to make your own herbal medicines for your loved ones, both 2 and 4 legged. :o) Pets do not like the taste of alcohol so you can add some stevia if you'd like to help sweeten it or honey before drenching.
If you have any questions, let me know!
Fern
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