Comfrey won’t strain!

[SUZANNEStudent]

Good afternoon all! This afternoon I started to decant the tinctures I made about 1 month ago and had a real surprise. When it came time to strain the comfrey I couldn’t get any of it to go through the hankerchief!! I worked with it for a while and decided it was hopeless. I put all of it back into the jar and shoved it back into the pantry! LOL! What am I supposed to do with it now? Can anyone help me with this? Thank you!

[Greg BoggsStudent]

Sounds like the comfrey absorbed all the alcohol so there isn’t much to press out if I understand you correctly. For myself, I gave up on the ratio method and pretty much only use the folk method for tincturing now. If I were in your case though I would do 1 of two things, either add more alcohol and let it steep for another couple weeks, or put inside some sort of press. It’s also possible that the handkerchief you are using is too thick. I use a potato ricer to press all of my tinctures since I saw it recommended on the forum here. I just put a cheesecloth inside the ricer, pour the herb I’m tincturing into the ricer, cover, and then press down to make sure I’m getting as much as I can out of my work

[SUZANNEStudentTopic Author]

Hello Greg!

Thank you for your response. I will add more vodka to the jars and shake them daily for another two weeks to see what happens. I don’t know if the problem was because all of the comfrey was powdered or not. The hankerchief I used was very thin. I don’t think using cheesecloth will help with the powdered sediment. I appreciate all your suggestions and will probably go to the folk method and using cheesecloth when doing other tinctures that don’t have powder. I hope you have a great weekend. Again thank you! You are always so helpful!

[SharonStudent]

Hi Suzanne – I’ve never had any trouble with mine, but I use a really sweet (and cheap) press!  This is what I use: ebay [dot] com/ itm/ 335297450250 (remove spaces and replace dot with a dot).  Because that press doesn’t like bulky fabric, I use knee high stockings and the pressing is a breeze – the marc is so dry after I press it, it’s like a hockey puck!  Good luck!

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by Sharon.

[SUZANNEStudentTopic Author]

Thank you Sharon. I will look into this press. I really can’t understand what happened to the tincture. The powder I used was from Dr Jones site and I did it at 1:5 ratio.  So I will look into the press and see if it will work for the comfrey issue.

Hey, Sharon, thank you for this information on the press. I just looked at it and purchased one. I will update this thread at some point after I receive it and let you know how the comfrey came out. I really appreciate your suggestion.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by SUZANNE.

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Sharon

[SharonStudent]

Suzanne – I hope you get as much benefit from this type of press as I have.  I call it the “best $35 my herbal hobby ever spent”!  Makes my life so much easier since I don’t have much hand strength in my “golden years” as I once did, and I like to get every last drop out of my tinctures!  Happy pressing!

 

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

SUZANNE wrote:

Good afternoon all! This afternoon I started to decant the tinctures I made about 1 month ago and had a real surprise. When it came time to strain the comfrey I couldn’t get any of it to go through the hankerchief!! I worked with it for a while and decided it was hopeless. I put all of it back into the jar and shoved it back into the pantry! LOL! What am I supposed to do with it now? Can anyone help me with this? Thank you!

I feel your pain Suzanne. The high mucilage levels make it a real joy to try and strain. A press will help a lot. I have thrown in the towel with comfrey root and now make my comfrey tinctures with half root and half leaf. The straight root tincture is just too miserable to strain.

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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