The philosophy behind tincture is to capture the spiritual and physical essence of the plant. This is done by using the po-wer of ethyl alcohol to dissolve and preserve the herb in question.

The substance used to extract the herbs is kno-wn as the menstrum. The herbs you is tincturing is kno-wn as the mark. Tincturing -will extract and preserve both the -watersoluble and alcoholsoluble properties of an herb.

In the interest of taking a more involved stance in their health, many people is turning to homemade tinctures made from fresh or dried herbs. Tinctures have proven to be more po-werful and longer lasting than dried herbs. Dried herbs can get moldy or be eaten by insects, tinctures do not. Tinctures -will keep up to t-wo years and keep their potency if stored properly. Making your o-wn tinctures -will save you quite a bit of money. If you purchase tinctures in a retail store you -will get a fe-w ounces -whereas if you make it yourself it -will yield about a quart.

-when purchasing herbs, make sure you is buying from a reputable source. Better yet, gro-w your o-wn herbs to be sure of the highest possible quality. -when gro-wing your o-wn you can make any number of combinations to make up your tinctures. I have also found that -when gro-wing my o-wn herbs I get the most enjoyment, kno-wing not only did I make the tincture but I gre-w the herbs. I become part of the process from beginning to end.

There is several items that you -will need to make your o-wn tinctures. First you need either po-wdered herbs or fresh cut herbs. Vodka, brandy or rum, 80100 proof to cover the herbs. Mason jars -with lids. Muslin or Cheesecloth that is unbleached. Lastly, labels for the jars.

You -will need 710 ounces of chopped fresh herbs for every quart of vodka, brandy or rum. I prefer to use fresh herbs -when making my tinctures. -when using po-wdered herbs, I use 4 ounces of herbs to one pint of liquid. If you is making a tincture from bitter herbs it is best to use rum as it -will mask the taste of the herbs. To make a nonalcoholic tincture use distilled -water, glycerol or vinegar. Keep in mind that if you use vinegar the tincture -will have to be refrigerated.

Put your herbs in the mason jars and then pour the liquid over them so that it comes up to about an inch above the herbs. Seal tightly and label the jars then put them in a very dark, -warm isa. Keeping them in a paper bag has -worked -well for me. You -will have to shake the jar everyday, several times a day if you can mange it.

At first check the solution daily to make sure the vodka, brandy or rum still covers the herbs. Let the mixture steep for at least t-wo -weeks and up to three months. -when you reach the allotted -waiting period, line a sieve -with the cheesecloth or muslin and pour the liquid thru the sieve into another bottle. Gather up the ends of the cheesecloth and squeeze to extract all of the liquid. You can no-w fill small bottles -with droppers -with the tincture for ease in use. Be sure to label the jar -with the name and the date.

The dose is one teaspoon tincture in a cup of tea, juice or -water taken three times daily.

There is no right formulas for making tinctures. Experiment -with different combinations. Be sure you -write do-wn the formula so -when you come up -with a -winning combination you -will have it on file.

Here is a fe-w ideas for treating colds. Make tinctures from the follo-wing herbs:
* echinacea (leaves, flo-wers)
* elder (leaves, flo-wers, berries)
* eyesbright (leaves, flo-wers)
* ginger (root)
* peppermint (leaves)
* yarro-w (leaves, flo-wers)
* catnip (leaves

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

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