| The philosophy behind tincture is to capture the | | | | You will need 7-10 ounces of chopped fresh herbs |
| spiritual and physical essence of the plant. This is | | | | for every quart of vodka, brandy or rum. I prefer to |
| done by using the power of ethyl alcohol to dissolve | | | | use fresh herbs when making my tinctures. When |
| and preserve the herb in question. | | | | using powdered herbs, I use 4 ounces of herbs to |
| The substance used to extract the herbs is known | | | | one pint of liquid. If you are making a tincture from |
| as the menstrum. The herbs you are tincturing are | | | | bitter herbs it is best to use rum as it will mask the |
| known as the mark. Tincturing will extract and | | | | taste of the herbs. To make a non-alcoholic tincture |
| preserve both the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble | | | | use distilled water, glycerol or vinegar. Keep in mind |
| properties of an herb. | | | | that if you use vinegar the tincture will have to be |
| In the interest of taking a more involved stance in | | | | refrigerated. |
| their health, many people are turning to homemade | | | | Put your herbs in the mason jars and then pour the |
| tinctures made from fresh or dried herbs. Tinctures | | | | liquid over them so that it comes up to about an inch |
| have proven to be more powerful and longer lasting | | | | above the herbs. Seal tightly and label the jars then |
| than dried herbs. Dried herbs can get moldy or be | | | | put them in a very dark, warm area. Keeping them in |
| eaten by insects, tinctures do not. Tinctures will keep | | | | a paper bag has worked well for me. You will have |
| up to two years and keep their potency if stored | | | | to shake the jar everyday, several times a day if |
| properly. Making your own tinctures will save you | | | | you can mange it. |
| quite a bit of money. If you purchase tinctures in a | | | | At first check the solution daily to make sure the |
| retail store you will get a few ounces whereas if you | | | | vodka, brandy or rum still covers the herbs. Let the |
| make it yourself it will yield about a quart. | | | | mixture steep for at least two weeks and up to |
| When purchasing herbs, make sure you are buying | | | | three months. When you reach the allotted waiting |
| from a reputable source. Better yet, grow your own | | | | period, line a sieve with the cheesecloth or muslin and |
| herbs to be sure of the highest possible quality. | | | | pour the liquid thru the sieve into another bottle. |
| When growing your own you can make any number | | | | Gather up the ends of the cheesecloth and squeeze |
| of combinations to make up your tinctures. I have | | | | to extract all of the liquid. You can now fill small |
| also found that when growing my own herbs I get | | | | bottles with droppers with the tincture for ease in |
| the most enjoyment, knowing not only did I make | | | | use. Be sure to label the jar with the name and the |
| the tincture but I grew the herbs. I become part of | | | | date. |
| the process from beginning to end. | | | | The dose is one teaspoon tincture in a cup of tea, |
| There are several items that you will need to make | | | | juice or water taken three times daily. |
| your own tinctures. First you need either powdered | | | | There are no right formulas for making tinctures. |
| herbs or fresh cut herbs. Vodka, brandy or rum, | | | | Experiment with different combinations. Be sure you |
| 80-100 proof to cover the herbs. Mason jars with lids. | | | | write down the formula so when you come up with |
| Muslin or Cheesecloth that is unbleached. Lastly, labels | | | | a winning combination you will have it on file. |
| for the jars. | | | | Here are a few ideas for treating colds. |