Common Knowledge and FAQ37: How to Make Herbal Tinctures?
Herbal tinctures are potent, spirit based, liquid extracts. They are made using fresh plant material and liquid base such as vodka, brandy, vegetable glycerine, or even apple cider vinegar.
Selecting Your Spirit:
Most commercial preparations are made with 198 proof grain alcohol. A simple and very effective choice is 100 proof vodka. It's clear, affordable and easy to obtain. 100 proof means it is exactly half water and half alcohol. this makes figuring dosages easy as most dosages recommended by herbalists are based on the assumption that a tincture was made at 50% - 1/2 water, 1/2 alcohol. If you are concerned about ingesting the alcohol, Rosemary Gladstar recommends placing the bottle of tincture in boiling water for 1-2 minutes which will remove about 1/2 the alcohol. You may also use glycerin or cider vinegar. These won't be as strong as alcohol based ones, but they will still be effective and are often a good choice for children's remedies.
*note: If using vinegar heat it slightly before pouring. It should be warm, not hot.
How to Make Herbal Tinctures?
~ After picking your fresh herbs, pick through them and remove any dirty or damaged parts but don't wash them.
~ Coarsley chop stems, leaves and roots. You can leave flowers whole.
~ Put your herbs in a clean & dry glass jar and fill with the liquid of your choice. The herbs need to be completely immersed in liquid.
~ Cap the jar tightly with an airtight lid.
~ Label your creation with the ingredients and date and store in a dark place for 6-8 weeks, shaking occasionally.
~ Strain out the herbs and pour tincture into clean, dry bottles. Label with the date and ingredients used.
~ Many people write asking us to reccommend a source for prepared herbal extracts. We believe Eclectic Institute offers some of the highest quality, highest strength products available. Their certified organic farm in Oregon uses a unique extraction process using certified organic grape alcohol to extract the medicinal properties of plants. This is the only extract on the market that uses organic ingredients in the extraction process, making it a completely certified organic herbal product. The taste is nice also.
Tips:
~ When you do buy commercially prepared tinctures save the empty bottles to refill with your own tinctures!
Claims & Warning:
Claims: Information this web site presented is meant for Nutritional Benefit and as an educational starting point only, for use in maintenance and promotion good health in cooperation with a common knowledge base reference...Furthermore,it based solely on the traditional and historic use or legend of a given herb from the garden of Adonis. Although every effort has been made to ensure its accurate, please note that some info may be outdated by more recent scientific developments......
Pharmakon Warning: The order of knowledge is not the transparent order of forms and ideas,as one might be tempted retrospectively to interpret it; it is the antidote....(Dissemination,Plato's Pharmacy,II.The Ingredients:Phantasms,Festivals,and Paints;138cf. Jacques Derrida.).
And as it happens,the technique of imitation,along with the production of the simulacrum,has always been in Plato's eyes manifestly magical,thaumaturgical:......and the same things appear bent and straight to those who view them in water and out,or concave and convex,owing to similar errors of vision about colors, and there is obviously every confusion of this sort in our souls.And so scene painting (skiagraphia) in its exploitation of this weakness of four nature falls nothing short of witchcraft (thaumatopoia), and so do jugglery and many other such contrivances.(Republic X,602c-d;cf.also 607c).
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Common Knowledge and FAQ37: How to Make Herbal Tinctures?
Herbal tinctures are potent, spirit based, liquid extracts. They are made using fresh plant material and liquid base such as vodka, brandy, vegetable glycerine, or even apple cider vinegar.
