Tinctures and Infusions

A tincture is an extract of plant or animal material made by dissolving in ethanol. An infusion is made by soaking plant or animal material in a liquid, such as oil, water, honey or alcohol.

It’s definitely worth noting that a culinary extract used for baking is the same thing!

Both are incredibly similar, and as you go you will find which method works best for your needs and intentions, you’re technically extracting the essential oils of the product into your liquid. Most things you forage can be made into both a tincture and infusion, and used for many culinary experiments, as well as kept for medicinal purposes. This is one of the more simple preservation techniques, and one of the first that many homesteaders start with. When I got started I was foraging wild natives and medicinals, but once I had an herb garden of my own, I was getting Lemon Balm for instance in such an abundance, I had to do something with it so it didn’t all end up in the compost. And as it’s important to constantly harvest and cut back your herbs, it’s also pertinent to preserve all that you grow as well. You can use any alcohol of choice, including isopropyl and/or vodka or rum or moonshine, it all depends on your intentions, I try to do all of the above, to keep my first aid kit full of topical tinctures, as well as my choice of oral tinctures in the kitchen. I usually do one of each, and some kind of oil infusion, for the Lemon Balm particularly, those oil infusions can be saved and used for any salves or ointments I might make in the future, it’s just like using essential oils you can buy, only you’re extracting those oils out yourself!

I would recommend making a tincture and infusion with every edible or medicinal plant you harvest, this will allow you to pick and choose between which method you like most, what you use, what works best, and so on. For instance I am most excited when my Italian herbs start producing well, so I can make an olive oil and herb infusion, which lasts me most of the rest of the year. You just can’t get that kind of flavor from store bought herbs or infusions for that matter. Of course save all the tiny jars you can, but I will post the website I order my jars from below. Be sure when you’re making tinctures and infusions that the liquid completely covers the product!

Many times its recommended to remove the product from the liquid after 2 weeks, to prevent spoilage, and don’t get me wrong, it can happen from time to time, but molding or spoiling is not common. With tinctures, that alcohol is killing any bacteria that wants to survive, and it will also accept any moisture in the plant product, as most alcohol is diluted anyways. Other liquid infusions are mostly the same, oil is not. If there is moisture in the plant product you could have separation and spoilage, and there are a few ways to avoid this. You can gently heat your oil infusion, the same concept is used for potpourri, you heat a liquid and basically infuse whatever flowers or spices you have. Be sure to keep it on the lowest setting possible as not to damage any of the raw natural medicinal properties, and if you heat be sure to strain, there is no need for the product to remain in your jar after heating. You can also freeze your end product and scrape off the liquid. You can even infuse in stages, dabbing the surface of the oil to absorb any moisture that may have leeched out. Or to be on the complete safe side, you can dry your product first. This will assure your oil will not get any moisture, and you don’t have to strain the product out this way either you can leave the herbs or whatever it is in the oil the entire time until that liquid goes below the surface of the product, when I say it must be submerged at all times, I mean indefinitely. You will absolutely experience molding or spoilage if the product is protruding at all from the liquid, even if it was submerged weeks or even months before hand, so keep that in mind, that is another reason many people just strain after 2 weeks. I personally like the look of spice and herb filled jars of tinctures and infusions, but you must keep an eye on them as you store, and use them. You can also make frozen herbed oil cubes using ice trays, these are fantastic to drop in the pan when you’re starting a meal. Recipe below.

Honey is a small exception to all common methods because you don’t really want moisture in your honey anyways, and if you use garlic, or ginger or something with moisture in it, you end up with a ferment, and that’s not what we’re trying to do here. If you infuse anything into honey make sure it is dry! Do not heat your honey as you will immediately kill most of your medicinal and beneficial properties and nutrients. Most store bought honey is already heat harvested, so that’s another reason you should always get raw and local!