Last night for our monthly public OHS meeting we covered the topic of “Herbal Preparations” Part one of a two part series. I wanted to focus on water and oil infusions, poultices and other simple folk remedies that people could easily do at home with little training or background using simple ingredients and kitchen tools.
When going through my notes and memories to make a list of the preparations I wanted to cover, it became clear that this was no exhaustive list. The possibilities are endless. So I tried to focus on some important ones and mention a few others.
We did motor through the list and had some participation of members who started the evening with making their own tea blend in a “fill your own” bag from a selection of dried herbs, flowers, berries and roots …and even a lichen. We discussed in which situation one would use a low temperature water, medium or high and these were available at the workshop to try.
Next we discussed briefly the value and benefit of a decoction using astragalus as an example and breaking up some, to simmer on the portable stovetop. Astragalus is an adaptogen and is recommended for someone who has been ill for an extended period, who has managed symptoms and/or infections but still needs to strengthen themselves plus re-calibrate immune function and support adrenals. The suggested amount to use was 1” per litre of water but we decided to be a little bit more generous than that with the herb – especially since the astragalus that we were using had been sitting in my cupboard for a number of years, it’s potency was likely not great. It was recommended on the label to simmer this for 20 minutes then turn off the pot and let it sit for at least 2hrs or overnight. Store in fridge and drink one cup per day.
The next preparation was infused oils. We warmed 2cups of olive oil in a bath till the glass measuring cup was hot to the touch …so that the oil wasn’t scaled. This warming method is best done very prudently with a low temperature crock pot, fondue pot or a yogurt maker that doesn’t get very hot ever. Nothing is more distressing than accidentally deep-frying your herb (been there done that). We poured warm olive oil over a jar of dried calendula petals. Later in the evening the discussion rolled around to which oils were best for what. Peanut and Grapeseed oils for example are penetrating, but tend to go rancid quickly; olive oil is good for the surface of the skin; castor oil is used for deep tissue, hard growths like fibroids and cysts and linseed oil is recommended for sprains and torn ligaments.
We had a demonstration on how to fill up a capsule making machine and some participants helped with loading up the gel caps. We used turmeric, and talked about using garlic, salt or collagen supplement in these capsules but really you can put almost any powdered herb you want to take but not taste into these. Vegetable gelatine caps are available. If that’s a concern, make sure you specify which ones you are ordering. It is very economical and causes less plastic bottles in the landfill to fill your own caps. A simple time investment of 15 minutes for 50 capsules.
I discussed a recipe for a smoking mixture given to me by my first teacher, which included Coltsfoot, Uva Ursi, Lavender, and Lobelia. This was recommended as a way to wean a person who is trying to quit smoking cigarettes. Since my first teacher was in 1993 a practicing herbalist member pointed out that there are some warnings about the coltsfoot now so use with caution – do your research, especially if ingesting.
Also mentioned briefly was the method of using a vapour inhalation. You can use fresh herbs or essential oils in a pot of steaming water with a towel tent over your head or if you have a house full of children you want inhaling you can simmer a stock pot with respiratory herbs all day long. I used rosemary lemon and grapefruit peel, sometimes sage or elcampagne, maybe a few drops of peppermint….whatever you have around. any herb that is aromatic and soothing will be great. sometimes I choose the spices like cinnamon, star anise, ginger and nutmeg which are really great with orange peels.
We moved into discussing syrups, A sweet way to take your medicine. We tasted a very fresh violet syrup – those flowers were blooming on the weekend and in a blue syrup by monday eve! We also discussed a tried and true honey based respiratory tonic, and a sugar free rose syrup (replacing the sugar with a erythritol/stevia blend). The sugar replacement did crystallize and separate so it’s back to the drawing board on that one! Glycerites were briefly mentioned as a sugar free alternative to syrups and an alternative to alcoholic tinctures but it was pointed out that different medicinal properties are extracted by the two different methods.
We discussed Poultices and it was demonstrated how to make a comfrey poultice with a cheesecloth and talked about how and when to use it (and when not to). Remedies like hot compresses dipped generously into chamomile honey tea for pink eye can be called a “fomentation” which is a hot poultice or compress; or can be called an eye bath. Cabbage leaves, or oat porridge was mentioned as a poultice style remedy with heat for mastitis.
Last but not least, we sampled a fun, kid-friendly herbal preparation which all the adults enjoyed just as well. Jello, made with 250mls of boiled water and 25mls of tincture cut into 25 squares so each square is a ml of tincture. We had cherry jello with echinacea tincture and lemon yellow with american ginseng tincture. A cheerful way to get medicine in, if you are ok with sugar and a bit of coloring.
Ottawa Herb Society 