Basics of Making Herbal Home Remedies (With Basic Recipes)
Teas or infusions are a simple and enjoyable way to use medicinal plants. There are so many incredible herbs that can be made into teas whether you grow or forage them: rose petals, raspberry leaves, beebalm, mint, echinacea, elder flowers/berries, calendula, nettles, thyme, violet flowers/leaves, lavender, the list goes on and on!
Don't be afraid to create your own herbal blends as long as you know all plants you plan to combine are safe. I love making seasonal blends of whatever I can gather at the time, it makes for a one-of-a-kind tea and a special connection to nature and the seasons.
Leaves and flowers are steeped for about 5-8 minutes to make a tea.
Roots and berries need to be decocted to release their flavor and medicines, this means you'll need to simmer them in water for about 15 minutes.
If you're using fresh herbs use 1 tablespoon for each cup of hot water.
If you're using dried herbs use 1 teaspoon for each cup of water. If you'd like to dry the herbs you collect, here's a link to my post exploring some different drying methods!
To make an herbal syrup you'll start with a strong herbal tea. Steep your herbs for a good long time so your tea is nice and strong, 15 minutes to an hour should be good.
Here's two simple methods to make syrup, one with sugar and one with honey:
1 cup of strong herbal tea
(Optional) 1/4 cup vodka or brandy
Combine your tea and sugar in a saucepan and heat on the stove, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved.
Bring your mixture to a boil and let it boil hard for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and skim off the top if needed.
Add vodka/brandy if you choose (it keeps it shelf-stable for longer) and pour into a sterilized bottle or jar. Store in the fridge (it should stay good for up to 6 months).
1 cup of strong herbal tea
(Optional) 1/4 cup vodka or brandy
Combine your tea and honey in a saucepan and heat gently on the stove to combine. Stir. Not much heat is needed here.
Add vodka/brandy if you choose and pour into a sterilized bottle or jar. Store in the fridge.
Tinctures are an incredible and long lasting way to use your medicinal plants. The alcohol is such a strong preservative that tinctures don't really go bad, at least not for many years. You can use any alcohol you like, but 80-100 proof seems to work really well to pull medicinal components from the plant material. Also keep in mind that very high proof alcohol (like 190 proof grain alcohol) is often too strong for tinctures. A lot of people use whiskey or brandy for tinctures, but others like gin, rum, or vodka will work just fine.
Folk Method for Making Tinctures:
Enough fresh herbs to loosely fill the jar
Enough dried herbs to fill the jar one-quarter to one-third of the way
Add all ingredients to the jar and screw the lid on tight.
Allow it to steep 4-6 weeks, shaking the jar once per day.
After 4-6 weeks strain the plant material out. Your pint jar should have 1-2 cups of tincture depending on the herb you used. This should be enough to last you about a year!
For most herbs, one dropper full of tincture = 1 strong cup of herbal tea. Use as needed!
A salve/balm is an herb infused oil mixed with a small quantity of wax (usually beeswax). The amount of wax you'll use depends on how hard you want your salve to be.
Some General Ratios for Salves/Balms:
Salve/Ointment: 6-8 parts infused oil, 1 part wax
Lip Balm: 3 parts infused oil, 1 part wax
Lotion Bar: 2 parts infused oil, 1 part wax
Melt down your wax and add the infused oil using the ratios above!
Infusing Oil for Your Salves:
Here's a link to my more detailed post about making herbal oil infusions, but there's two main methods to make an infusion:
Slower Method (takes a few weeks): Fill a jar two-thirds of the way with your herbs and fill it with oil. Stir it up, put the cap on, and leave it in a sunny spot to steep for a few weeks. After a few weeks, strain it and recap it.
Faster Method (takes about a day): Gently heat your oil and herbs with a double boiler, a crockpot on low, a low temperature oven, or a dehydrator. After heating pour your mixture into a jar and let it steep overnight. The next day strain it and recap it.
When you strain your plant matter from your infused oil, give the herbs a good squeeze. They will have absorbed some of the oil and you don't want to miss out on that good herb-rich oil the plants are holding onto!
Source: Sams, Tina. Healing Herbs: A Beginner's Guide to Identifying, Foraging, and Using Medicinal Plants. 2015.
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