Herbal tinctures are welcome and sustainable additions to your kitchen medicine cabinet – whether homemade or purchased. And they are so easy to prepare. Join me to delve into the basics of herbal extractions.

Herbal Tincture Weight to Volume Ratios
Fresh Herbs 1:2 (1 part herb to 2 parts menstruum)
Dried Herbs 1:4 or 1:5 (1 part herb to 4 or 5 parts menstruum)

Supplies:
Organic High Proof Neutral Alcohol Spirits
Tincture Storage Bottles

Mentions:
Michael Moore’s Herbal Tinctures in Clinical Practice
Herbalist & Alchemist

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Original music composed by Dylan Rice — singer, songwriter, guitarist.

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Reluctant to ignore summer fruit in their abundant peak, I am infusing my favorite, cherries, to make a cordial. If you are preserving your favorite fruit by making jams, pickles or drying consider this as an alternative option.

Cherry Cordial Recipe?
2 quart or 1 half gallon size jars
2 1/2 pounds of cherries, stems removed, washed
2 1/2 cups sugar
1½ vanilla bean
⅛ cup cardamom pods
2 cups bourbon
½ cup brandy
Place cherries into jar (no need to seed)
Add the cardamom and vanilla bean, then sugar and bourbon.
Put on lid, shake. Label.
Strain after 3 weeks, bottle liquid

Mentions:
Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen
Washing produce that is not organic
Study on washing produce to remove pesticides

Please SHARE this episode with someone who may also be fascinated by herbal medicine. Help me to spread my passion for kitchen medicine and make everyone’s home a place of herbal wisdom. ?

Ways to subscribe to An Herbal Diary
* Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcast (iTunes)
* Click here to subscribe via Stitcher
* You can also subscribe via Google Podcasts
* You can also subscribe via Spotify

Original music composed by Dylan Rice — singer, songwriter, guitarist.

Please be in touch!

Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me a question. Leave a comment on this episode. I would absolutely love to know you better and learn about your own experiences with herbal medicine!

Grateful to have a large bunch of fresh sage! I’m infusing some into butter to make cookies then turning the rest into a tincture. This is my first recording while baking – please let me know if you like it and want to hear more baking episodes!

Sage Infused Brown Butter
2 sticks unsalted butter, sliced into chunks
4-5 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, torn into small pieces
Heat butter in small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Cook until solids begin to brown about 6 minutes. Stir in sage and cook just until begins to crisp about 30 seconds. Whisk up brown solids and immediately pour into a glass bowl. Chill in refrigerator until just firm about 30 minutes.

Sage Butter and Lemon Shortbread recipe here
2 sticks sage infused butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Grated lemon zest from one lemon
Preheat oven to 300.
Combine chilled sage butter and powdered sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Beat on medium high speed until light and creamy about 2 minutes.
Add flour, salt and lemon zest, beat on low speed until just mixed through, scraping down sides.
Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment paper and form into a rectangle with hands. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll out to about 8 inches by 6 inches so rectangle is about a 1/2 inch thick.
Remove top sheet of parchment paper. Transfer dough and bottom parchment paper to a baking sheet. Pierce all over with a fork.
Bake for 55-60 minutes until golden brown, rotate baking sheet once in middle.
Remove from oven and while still warm cut into 1 inch cookies. Then cool completely.
Store at room temperature.

Fresh Sage Tincture
100 grams fresh sage
200 ml 190 proof alcohol such as Everclear
Combine in mason jar so sage is completely covered with alcohol. Infuse at least 4 weeks. Strain and bottle liquid tincture

Book Mentions:
Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide
The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
The Herbalist in the Kitchen by Gary Allen

Please SHARE this episode with someone who may also be fascinated by herbal medicine. Help me to spread my passion for kitchen medicine and make everyone’s home a place of herbal wisdom. ?

Ways to subscribe to An Herbal Diary
* Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcast (iTunes)
* Click here to subscribe via Stitcher
* You can also subscribe via Google Podcasts
* You can also subscribe via Spotify

Original music composed by Dylan Rice — singer, songwriter, guitarist.

Please be in touch!

Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me a question. Leave a comment on this episode. I would absolutely love to know you better and learn about your own experiences with herbal medicine!

extracting supplies

organic grain alcohol

herbs for tincturing

I’m no alchemist, wizard or craft brewer but concocting my own extracts feels magical. The endless possibilities add wonder and mystique. And it’s so easy. The two most difficult steps in making tinctures are obtaining the supplies and patiently waiting. There’s a bit of measuring, but otherwise it’s as simple as filling a jar.

As an herb infuses in alcohol, the alcohol pulls out many of the plant’s chemicals, also called phytochemicals or phytonutrients. This creates a tincture or concentrated source of an herb’s beneficial components so just a few drops is all that’s needed in contrast to a whole cup of tea, for example. This is an advantage especially for herbs that don’t taste great, like bitters.

Craft bartenders and mixologists long ago discovered the vast virtues of bitters. At first, bitters were added to rum or other spirits to help relieve nausea and other digestion problems. It was an especially easy way to get sailors to take them. Over time, they have become key ingredients, often referred to as a cocktail’s salt and pepper. Bitters provide the perfect finish, blending and enhancing the elements of a complex drink. A skilled bartender knows that if a drink is flat or missing something, the answer is always to add bitters.

Bitters are the reason a cocktail is referred to as an aperitif or digestif. In herbal medicine, bitters are the go-to way of improving digestion. My teacher, on the first day of class, gave us five remedies that could be given to virtually anyone and make them feel better. Bitters was on this list.

I believe bitters tinctures have a place in baking similar to that of cocktails. We already use extracts like vanilla, almond, or lemon to intensify flavors. Bitters extracts can balance and round out sweetness, moderate richness, add aromatic spiciness, unite contrasting flavorings. They blend well with citrus, honey, and floral tones. They mix in with fats and provide a bit of acidity. All this and help digestion, too.

I picked these three herbal blends to tincture for their bitter qualities and to experiment with their flavors in baking. It’s going to take a while to continue because tinctures must infuse for about 4-6 weeks. Stay tuned for recipes to follow.

It would be a great time to start some of your own..please do and let me know!