- Tinctures Made From Fresh Herbs
- By: Mary Hanna
The principle behind making tinctures
is to obtain the spiritual and physical quintessence of the plant.
This is done by using the powers of ethyl alcohol to dissolve
and preserve the herb you are using.
The material used to extract
the herbs is known as the menstrum. The herbs you are tincturing
are called the mark. Tincturing will extract and maintain both
the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble properties of an herb.
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Many people are making their
own tinctures from dried and fresh herbs in an interest to be
more involved in their health. Tinctures of fresh herbs have
proven to be more vitalizing and longer surviving than dried
herbs. Dried herbs tend to get moldy or be eaten by insects,
tinctures will not. Tinctures will keep for as long as two years
and sustain their potency if stored properly. Creating your own
tinctures will save you quite a bit of money. If you obtain tinctures
at a retail shop you might get a few ounces but if you create
them yourself you can yield a quart.
When purchasing herbs, be sure
you are buying from a trustworthy source. Worthier yet, cultivate
your own herbs to be confident of the best possible quality.
When growing your own you can make any number of combinations
to produce your tinctures. I have further found that when growing
my own herbs I get the greater gratification, knowing not only
did I brew the tincture but I grew the herbs. I am part of the
process from starting point to the development of the tinctures. |
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There are numerous items that you
will require to cook up your own tinctures. Number one you need
either powdered herbs or fresh cut herbs. Vodka, brandy or rum,
80 - 100 proof to pour over the herbs. Mason jars complete with
lids, Muslin or Cheesecloth that is unbleached and of course,
labels.
Have on hand 7-10 ounces of chopped
fresh herbs for every quart of vodka, brandy or rum. I always
try to utilize fresh herbs when creating my tinctures. When using
powdered herbs, I use 4 ounces of herbs to one pint of the spirit
used. If you are making a tincture from bitter herbs it is best
to use rum as it will disguise the flavor of the herbs. To knock
out a non-alcoholic tincture, use distilled water, glycerol or
vinegar. Just remember if you use the vinegar you must keep it
in the refrigerator.
Put your herbs in the mason jars
and then drizzle the spirit used over them so that it comes up
to about an inch above the herbs. Close the lids tightly and
tag the jars then put them in a very dark, balmy section of your
home. Keeping them in a paper bag has worked fine for me. You
must shake the tincture everyday, several times a day if you
can manage it. If you put it by the door you use most often every
time you go in or out just shake the bag.
At the beginning inspect the
tincture daily to be sure the vodka, brandy or rum still is covering
the herbs. Allow the brew to steep for at least two weeks and
up to three months. When you get to the allotted waiting interval,
line a sieve with the cheesecloth or muslin and pour the fluid
thru the sieve into fresh bottle. Draw in the ends of the cheesecloth
and press to derive all of the fluid. You can now fill small-scale
bottles with droppers with the tincture for easy use. Be positive
to tag the jar with the name of other herb, the day, the month
and the year that it was produced.
To use the tincture drop one
teaspoon into juice, water, or tea, three times per day.
There are no hard and fast rules
for creating tinctures. Experiment with diverse combinations.
Be sure you note down the recipe you used for each batch so when
you come up with a winner you will have it on file.
Here are a few ideas for treating
colds. Prepare tinctures from the herbs that follow:
- echinacea (leaves, flowers)
- elder (leaves, flowers, berries)
- eyebright (leaves, flowers)
- ginger (root)
- peppermint (leaves)
- yarrow (leaves, flowers)
- catnip (leaves)
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna
All Rights Reserved. |
