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Page 26
| water and close the jar. When heavy plant matter falls to the bottom of the jar, a gentle current lifts water to the surface, where it combines again with the plant material, setting up slow percolation. |
| Tinctures |
| A tincture is a liquid extract made by soaking fresh or dried herbs in grain alcohol, such as rum or vodka, vegetable glycerine or a combination of both. Tinctures have a long shelf life and are very concentrated. However, they aren't as concentrated as their labels suggest. According to Rosemary Gladstar, who pioneered popular herbology in the 1960s and is now one of America's foremost herbalists, the minuscule doses on most tincture bottles date back to the early days of commercial tincture making when the only comparable products were homeopathic. In homeopathy, doses are measured by the drop. For lack of a better system of dosages, herbalists used similar measurements. In most cases, Gladstar asserts, when a tincture bottle recommends 15 to 20 drops, you'll do better to take half a teaspoon or even a tablespoon of tincture, depending on the herbs involved and the condition you're treating. Keep this in mind if you ever find an herbal tincture ineffective. It may be that the herb is working just fine, it's the dosage that isn't. |
| For information on tincture making, see the instructions for making Swedish bitters on page 56 and comfrey tincture on page 40. |
| Capsules |
| Capsules contain cut and sifted, crushed or powdered herbs. Because powdered herbs lose their potency when exposed to heat, light or humidity, they should be purchased from a reliable source and stored carefully. Kitchen cabinets near the stove are not a good place to store medicinal herbs, whether teas or capsules. |
| One way to insure quality capsules is to obtain high-grade |
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