Tinctures are effective herbal medicines that are easy to make at home.
Tinctures are inexpensive and effective herbal medicines. They are made by soaking an herb in alcohol. The alcohol extracts the active compounds from the plant material. Tinctures can be made from the leaves, roots, or bark of a plant, depending on the medicinal effects that you desire. Always research the plant you are using before attempting to tincture it. Tinctures are easy to make at home although they require a bit of wait time before they are ready to use.
Instructions
1. Chop 4-8 ounces of the plant material to be tinctured, or cut it using kitchen scissors. It is best to use fresh plants as dried plants may be less effective. Be sure that you have researched the plant you are using and that you have correctly identified it.
2. Fill the glass jar to the top with the chopped plant material.
3. Pour the vodka or brandy over the plant material until the liquid reaches the top. Make sure that the plant material is fully submerged in the alcohol. If it is not, the plant material will turn brown while the tincture is being prepared. If this happens, the tincture will still be usable but the taste or color of the tincture may be affected.
4. Cap the jar, making sure the lid fits tightly.
5. Place the jar in a dark cupboard. It is important that the jar not be exposed to direct sunlight, as this can break down the medicinal compounds in the plant.
6. Store the jar for 2 to 6 weeks. You can store it for longer, but a shorter time is not advisable because the compounds in the plant require time to be fully extracted. Some herbalists shake their tinctures periodically to keep the plant material fully submerged in the alcohol. Others do not. Either method will yield an effective tincture.
7. Place the strainer or cheesecloth on top of the measuring cup.
8. Empty the contents of the jar into the strainer or cheesecloth and allow to drain. This is known as decanting the tincture.
9. Wring out the herb with your clean hands into the strainer. This helps to collect the most potent liquid. It may also mean that the tincture will contain some plant material, so skip this step if you do not want any chance of residue at the bottom of the bottle. Once you have thoroughly wrung out the herb, you can discard or compost it.
10. Pour the strained liquid into the brown glass jars. You may wish to use a funnel to make this step easier. Fill the jars to the top and make sure that the stoppers are tightly screwed on.
11. Label the jars with the type of tincture and the date you decanted it. You may also wish to label the jars with the dose of the medicine and the conditions for which it is indicated. Do not skip this step or you may end up with a jar of medicine you cannot identify.
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