The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [106]
PRESERVATION AND STORAGE
Oils remain unchanged for a great length of time when kept in cool airtight glass containers. Rancidity in oils renders them useless in herbal pharmacy and as foods. It is extremely important to protect oils from air, light, heat, and moisture. Store all oils in a cool location (a refrigerator or freezer whenever possible) in tightly sealed, amber bottles. Fill the bottles as full as possible to eliminate the oil’s prolonged contact with air during storage.
OIL INFUSIONS USING DRIED PLANTS
The “Folk Method”
1. Grind the dried herb to as fine a powder as possible.
2. Place the powdered herb in a jar that can be capped tightly and add a fixed oil of your choice (Olive, Sesame, Almond, etc.). Use enough oil to completely wet the herb.
3. Stir the mixture well.
4. Let the herb settle, then add enough oil to cover the wet herb an additional ¼ inch. Some lighter herbs will float at first, so let there be an additional ¼. inch below instead.
5. Many dried herbs will absorb this extra ¼ inch of oil. Check your mixture 24 hours later, and if absorption has occurred, add enough oil to re-establish the extra measure of oil.
6. Cap the jar tightly.
7. Place it in a thick paper bag or box to keep light out, and place in the sun for 7 to 10 days (a warm to hot infusion, depending on the weather).
8. Shake or stir the mixture every couple of hours each day or at least several times a day.
9. When the infusion is completed, strain the oil from the herb and press the remaining pulp.
10. Allow the infusion to sit still indoors for several days, then decant and filter out sediment.
11. Bottle in glass containers, cap tightly, label, and store in a cool dark place.
The Digestion Method
1. Grind dried herb to a powder.
2. Add a fixed oil of your choice, in the proportion of 1 part powder by weight to 5 parts oil, or a suitable ratio depending on the nature of the powder. Quantitative ratios are not really critical for this type of preparation, for its vital energy is not really dependent on quantitative principles.
3. Place in a water bath, an electric “meat roaster vat,” yogurt maker, or some other apparatus having a thermostatic control that allows you to maintain a consistent temperature of around 100° F. (Unfortunately, a crock pot’s lowest range is too hot, usually about 150° F. or more. Some folks place their oils in an oven using the heat of the pilot light, but beware of this technique. There is something about an oil infusion quietly macerating in an oven that inspires others in the household to preheat the oven to 350° F. for a spontaneous baking spree.
4. Stir the mixture well, set the heat thermostat at approximately 100° F., and cover the herb/oil mixture.
5. This maceration (soaking) process using low heat is called digestion. Ideally, you want to continue this mild heat process for 10 days and nights at approximately 100°F., stirring it every two hours. Use a yogurt thermometer to monitor the temperature.
6. When the infusion is completed, strain the oil from the herb and press the remaining pulp. (If you strain the oil while it is still warm it flows more easily.)
7. Let sediment accumulate for a few days, decant, and filter the oil.
8. Bottle, cap tightly, label, and store in a cool dark place.
Hot Infusion Method
Taken From a Late Nineteenth Century Physio-Medical Text
1. “Infused oils may be prepared from the finely powdered herbs: Cayenne, Fucus (Bladderwrack seaweed), Lobelia, and Comfrey in proportions of 1 part herb powder by weight to 10 parts fixed oil by volume, by the process of decoction. Such infused oils may be prescribed singly or in combinations as mildly stimulating, relaxing, or toning liniments for various skeletal problems, or as the basis for stronger preparations when the therapeutic affect is reinforced by adding more powerful essential oils.
2. “The following example illustrates the method for infused oil of Cayenne, which