› Forums › Herb-Talk | Archive › Botanical Medicine › Herbal Medicine Making › Making an Oil infusion

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    • August 5, 2012 at 10:50 PM #33068
      Dr. Patrick Jones
      Homestead Instructor

        Oil infusions of herbs can be very useful either by themselves or as precursors to making balms or salves.

        There are two ways to do it; the easy way, and the quick and easy way. 🙂

        The Easy way:

        – Take some herbs.

        – Put them in a jar.

        – Cover them with olive, sesame or almond oil so that there is about 1/4 inch of oil over the herb

        – Put them in a brown paper bag and set them outside or just put them in the window sill for about two weeks.

        – Shake daily and say nice things to it.

        – Strain and bottle.

        The Quick and Easy Way:

        – Take one part herb and soak it in 1/2 part vodka for several hours.

        – Add herb and vodka to 7 parts oil and put in a blender.

        – Blend until sides of blender begin to get warm

        – Apologize for the blender. 😯 …hopefully the herbs were too drunk to notice.

        – Strain and bottle…Voila! Instant oil infusion!

        There are some other ways to make one that involve crock pots or ovens on super low heats but I could never see the point of them. There’s just no reason to burn the electricity or tie up an appliance for days or weeks.

        Couple of things to know about oils:

        – Once the oil is made, keep your fingers out of it. Use a spoon and it will stay fresh longer.

        – Refrigerate them once they’re made

        – Adding a little vitamin E to the jar will help keep it from spoiling as well. You can buy liquid vitamin E at your grocery store or pharmacy.

        One of my favorite oil infusions is equal parts comfrey, calendula and marshmallow (or mallow). It’s soothing, healing and kills bugs. 🙂

        Patrick

        Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

      • August 5, 2012 at 11:30 PM #33069
        MightyMom

          Thanks so much! One question, you mentioned at the end one of your favorite infusions, would you use that as a rub, poultice or just drink it?

        • August 5, 2012 at 11:34 PM #33070
          MightyMom

            One more question, you mentioned using kyro syrup instead of honey for an infusion that a baby would take, would you do that the same way as the oil infusion slow way?

          • August 8, 2012 at 4:43 PM #33083
            Beverly

              Doc, do you think one method is better than another for quality? –more medicinal value / keep longer, etc.

              Thanks,

              Beverly

            • August 9, 2012 at 4:05 AM #33087
              Dr. Patrick Jones
              Homestead Instructor
              Topic Author

                MightyMom wrote: Thanks so much! One question, you mentioned at the end one of your favorite infusions, would you use that as a rub, poultice or just drink it?

                OIl infusions are generally used topically. They can be used internally as well if the herbs are appropriate for internal use.

                MightyMom wrote: One more question, you mentioned using kyro syrup instead of honey for an infusion that a baby would take, would you do that the same way as the oil infusion slow way?

                I think the karo syrup comment was made in reference to sweetening a herb tea (hot infusion). Honey shouldn’t be given to children under a year old due to dangers of botulism.

                An herb syrup can be made with honey (and probably karo syrup as well for that matter) by adding tincture to the honey. I”ll start another thread on syrup making. 🙂

                Beverly wrote: Doc, do you think one method is better than another for quality? –more medicinal value / keep longer, etc.

                Thanks,

                Beverly

                No, I don’t think so. I’ve used both with equal success.

                Patrick

                Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

              • August 10, 2012 at 10:04 PM #33092
                nuff2spare

                  I tried using an oil infusion of lemon balm and a little calendula for cold sores, doing it the quick way with my vitamix and adding beeswax. It was not so great. Can any one share how to make

                  salves and ointments. I feel bad wasting my precious herbs.?

                • August 11, 2012 at 11:29 PM #33097
                  IdahoHerbalist

                    nuff2spare wrote: I tried using an oil infusion of lemon balm and a little calendula for cold sores, doing it the quick way with my vitamix and adding beeswax.

                    That sounds like you were trying to make a salve. I have not attempted that. Maybe Doc will start a new thread and make a video on that process.

                    Don’t feel too bad. Learning new skills can be tough and will cost us something, either time, money or a chink to our pride. Usually at least some of all three.

                  • August 12, 2012 at 2:55 AM #33100
                    Dr. Patrick Jones
                    Homestead Instructor
                    Topic Author

                      nuff2spare wrote: I tried using an oil infusion of lemon balm and a little calendula for cold sores, doing it the quick way with my vitamix and adding beeswax. It was not so great. Can any one share how to make

                      salves and ointments. I feel bad wasting my precious herbs.?

                      To make a salve from an infused oil, first strain the salve. Then put it in a double boiler and warm it up. Then add the beeswax. I’ll make a video Monday. 🙂

                      Patrick

                      Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

                    • May 21, 2013 at 6:58 PM #33287
                      mdos

                        This is great info, akin to what Tony Pantalleresco does with alcohol extracts in this youtube vid:

                        A few questions:

                      • Should I powder the herb before soaking in 1/2 part vodka?[/*]

                      • Should I attempt to mix up the mud that will result from using 1/2 part vodka?[/*]

                      • The last time I made an ‘instant tincture’ as seen in Tony’s video, I could only run my vitamix for about 4 minutes when starting with a 5:1 vodka:herb ratio (ml : g) before the alcohol heated up and evaporated to the point that the liquid turned to mud and stopped circulating. Do you think I should run the vitamix on a lower setting for longer? I’m afraid to burn out the motor running it on lower settings until things heat up, though.[/*]

                      • Could I skip the first step and begin with a pre-made tincture? I’m not so sure what the vodka soak is going to do, especially one that quick. If so, what part tincture to oil would you recommend?[/*]

                        • Also, how do you feel about making ‘instant tinctures’ as outlined in the video above? Same as this method, just applied to oils?

                        Thanks!!

                        -Marc

                  • May 24, 2013 at 4:13 PM #33297
                    Dr. Patrick Jones
                    Homestead Instructor
                    Topic Author

                      mdos wrote:

                    • Should I powder the herb before soaking in 1/2 part vodka?[/*]
                    • Should I attempt to mix up the mud that will result from using 1/2 part vodka?[/*]

                      • The finer the particles, the more surface the vodka will have to interact.

                      mdos wrote:

                    • The last time I made an ‘instant tincture’ as seen in Tony’s video, I could only run my vitamix for about 4 minutes when starting with a 5:1 vodka:herb ratio (ml : g) before the alcohol heated up and evaporated to the point that the liquid turned to mud and stopped circulating. Do you think I should run the vitamix on a lower setting for longer? I’m afraid to burn out the motor running it on lower settings until things heat up, though.[/*]

                      • Slower might be better…experimenting and taking notes is always the rule of thumb when making medicine. Get an old Vita-mix on eBay. They’re tough as nails.

                      mdos wrote:

                    • Could I skip the first step and begin with a pre-made tincture? I’m not so sure what the vodka soak is going to do, especially one that quick. If so, what part tincture to oil would you recommend?[/*]

                      • Also, how do you feel about making ‘instant tinctures’ as outlined in the video above? Same as this method, just applied to oils?

                      I think the extraction process involved in tincturing probably happens much faster than the two weeks generally recommended. Some people make tinctures by a process called percolation which takes only a matter of hours. Alcohol is a powerful solvent. I’m guessing that with most tinctures of finely ground stuff that the chemicals from the plant are all in the hooch in a matter of hours not weeks but I have never seen any science to confirm that.

                      Patrick

                      Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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