by Vicki Niedzielska

Created on: August 25, 2008

A tincture is a concentrate form of any herb, contained in a suspension of alcohol. Before you get too excited, this does not mean that by throwing a few mint leaves into your vodka, it is a good idea to drink a liter in one night! However, you can use the following tips to make your own tinctures, harnessing the power of herbs for some natural and very impressive medicinal benefits.

Making your own tinctures is surprisingly easy, and very economical. By preparing your own tinctures, not only will you save money, but also you can be sure you maintain good quality, pure ingredients with no additives. Tinctures are long lasting, and the herbs contained within will not lose their effectives in the same way that long-dried herbs might. You can combine exactly the herbs you want for your specific purposes, and you will undoubtedly feel a little thrill of achievement when you sit enjoying a cup of Echinacea tea, made from a tincture you created for yourself. I also suspect that the wonderful power of the human mind to heal the body will be engaged in the very process of making the tincture, much more so than it would be by the process of driving to the nearest store and buying the same mixture!

To make a tincture, gather the herbs you wish to use. This can be one herb only, or a mix of two or three with the properties you are looking for. The herbs can be in dried form, or even better cut fresh from your own organic garden. You will also need good quality 80 100 percent proof alcohol, preferably vodka or rum (rubbing alcohol or anything not meant for human consumption should not be used). You will also need some large jars, muslin or cheesecloth, and smaller brown glass bottles for the final preparation.

Placing your herbs in the larger jars, add alcohol until the herbs are completely covered, and then add an additional inch of liquid. As a rough guide, 100 150 grams of finely chopped herbs should be covered with approximately half a liter of alcohol. While alcohol is the best way to preserve the properties of the herbs, you can make non-alcoholic tinctures with distilled water or vinegar. These will not taste as nice, and will need to be refrigerated, but they will still be effective.

Once the herbs are covered with the liquid, tightly close the jars and store in a dark, warm area. The jar needs to be shaken regularly, at least once per day to mix the herbs with the alcohol. This process lasts anywhere between 2 weeks and three months the longer you leave the steeping

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>