The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [84]
When in doubt as to a suitable menstruum, choose “dilute alcohol” as a solvent.
TINCTURING BY USING THE FOLK METHOD
Tincturing dry plant material
1. Grind dried herb to a moderately coarse powder (mcp).
2. Place the powder into a large jar that can be tightly closed.
3. Add prepared menstruum (see this page.)
4. Stir the mixture well, so that all of the herb is wet.
5. Add sufficient menstruum to the wet herb so that about 1/4 inch of extra menstruum sits atop the herb; if the herb is floating, 1/4 inch below the herb.
6. Cap jar tightly.*
7. Check the jar after 12 hours. If the herb has absorbed the menstruum, add a sufficient amount of menstruum to re-establish the 1/4 inch of extra liquid.
8. Shake the tincture frequently for 14 days, then let it sit another day.
9. Pour off (decant) the clear tincture from the top, press the remaining wet pulp, and combine these two liquids (see methods for decanting and pressing in Chapter Twenty-Five).
10. Filter if desired.
11. Bottle, tightly cap, and label.
Tincturing fresh plant material when using 190-proof alcohol
1. Chop the fresh plant into small pieces and stuff them into a canning jar, filling it to the top. Pack the herb into the jar very tightly. Get as much into the jar as you can, especially when working with a light herb.
2. Add 190-proof ethyl alcohol, filling the jar to the top. Make sure all the herb is covered by the alcohol.
3. Cap jar tightly.*
4. Agitate the tincture frequently for 14 days.
5. Decant the liquid, press the remaining wet pulp, and combine these two liquids.
6. Filter if desired.
7. Bottle, tightly cap, and label.
Tincturing fresh plant material when using diluted alcohol
(less than 190-proof)
1. Chop the fresh plant into small pieces and stuff them very tightly into a canning jar, filling it to the top.
2. Add menstruum (see below), filling the jar to the top. (See Preparing the Menstruum below.)
3. Pour the entire ingredients (herb and menstruum) into a Vita-Mix or some other suitable blender and blend it like a smoothie. (You will have to make a large enough batch, so that the volume of menstruum required is sufficient to completely cover the blender blades.)
4. Pour the liquefied ingredients into a jar and cap tightly.*
5. Agitate tincture frequently for 14 days, then let it sit another day.
6. Decant, press, and filter.
7. Bottle, tightly cap, and label.
Preparing the menstruum
The nature of the folk method is simplicity. This means using what is commonly at hand and readily available. The easiest menstruum to obtain is probably a commercial 80-proof or 100-proof vodka. Eighty-proof vodka is (approximately) 40 percent alcohol by volume; 100 proof is (approximately) 50 percent alcohol by volume. Twenty to 30 percent alcohol is sufficient to preserve a tincture. Therefore, when making a dried plant preparation, 80-proof vodka is adequate. When making a fresh plant preparation, which always incorporates the juices of the plant (which dilute the menstruum), maybe 100-proof vodka is more judicious (as noted above, 190-proof would be the most efficient).
Of course, one can always prepare a custom-made menstruum (as discussed in the next section on weight to volume method) and use it as a menstruum for this folk method. Make notes on your decision and on the results that manifest.
TINCTURING USING THE WEIGHT TO VOLUME METHOD
Tincturing dry plant material
1. Powder and weigh dried plant and place the powder into a large jar that can be tightly closed.
2. Prepare custom menstruum (see this page).
3. Be sure to mix together all the liquids of the menstruum thoroughly in a separate container before adding them to the powdered plant material.
4. Add the menstruum to the powdered herb.
5. Stir well, making sure all of the powdered herb is wet. (After stirring the