There are a few popular ways that we can preserve herbs for later uses.
Tincture
Making tinctures is probably the easiest and convenient way to preserve an herb because it requires very little herb material and the herb is preserved in alcohol for a long-term use. Once the tincture is made it is pretty shelf stable. Many tinctures are good to use for 10 years after the initial tincturing process if they have been prepared and stores properly.
Tincturing is one of my very favorite ways to preserve herbs that are rare or that I know that I cannot grow myself the year after. Mainly I look for herbs to tincture that have a very short shelf life or those herbs that have a get weaker once they are dried.
The tincture isle always intrigued me at the health food store. I remember looking at the small dark bottles and wondering if they were really good to use and which herb was for what purpose. Eventhough tinctures are really easy to make, I still look at the tinctures and at the health food stores to see which brands there are and what herb combinations are used for different health concerns.
Tinctures are the most effective when made with alcohol that is at least 80 proof which means that it contains 40% alcohol. You can also opt out of making tinctures with alcohol by using raw apple cider vinegar or a glycerin, but something to keep in mind is that by not using alcohol the product that you will make will have a much shorter shelf life at about a year instead of 10 years that you would get with alcohol.
A glycerine may work well when a person that you are giving the tincture to cannot have alcohol and apple cider vinegar can be used for that same reason. Glycerites work really well when extracting water soluble compounds from the actual plant material.
One of the best ways that you can make a tincture yourself is by starting with the Simpler’s Method. (1)
To begin using this method in your tincture making using alcohol, you can begin by using wither fresh or dried plant material. The most popular choices for alcohol to use at home is either Vodka or Brandy because you can get them mostly anywhere, but you can use anything that is at least 80 proof.
Method
Fill a clean glass container about 2/3 of the way with chopped fresh or dried herbs and pour alcohol over the herb until it is covered by at least an inch of liquid.
Seal with the lid.
Store tincture in a cool and dry place away from any light or heat for 4-6 weeks.
You can shake it whenever you remember.
After 4-6 weeks, strain the herbs out of the alcohol by using an old cotton shirt (cheesecloth’s have too wide of holes for some herbs)
Squeeze the cloth tight at the end to make sure you got every last drop.
Pour finished product into a clear dry and dark bottle add the label and the date for your own reference.
Store away from light and heat.
Vinegar
Using vinegar based tinctures requires the same type of technique as the alcohol based tinctures but instead of alcohol apple cider vinegar is used.
Fill your clean glass jar 1/2-2/3 of fresh or dried herbs and cover with vinegar and allow to macerate for 4-6 weeks as you would with alcohol.
Strain the same way.
I personally prefer to store tinctures made with vinegar in the refrigerator both while they are macerating and after they are strained to prolong shelf life. This is more important to do if you are working with fresh plant material rather than dried plant material.
I like to use vinegars for mineral rich herbs like nettles or milky oats.
So if you are looking for mineral rich tinctures, go for the vinegar.
They are not really as strong as the alcohol tinctures and you do not get the same constitutes from the herbs that the alcohol would make but they can still be very effective.
Vinegar tinctures are very useful for people that:
- Have liver impairments
- Have previous alcohol issues in the past
- Are cautious with using alcohol tinctures with their kids
- Have religious reasons
It could be fun to try to add vinegar tinctures to salads or honey to try to get some medicinal benefits with tinctures. Have fun with trying to incorporate herbs into your everyday routine with these types of tinctures.
Glycerin
Glycerin is another way to make tinctures that is very kid friendly. To prepare the tincture (called glycerite) you would use the same method as the alcohol or the vinegar tinctures but with the organic glycerin as your solvent.
The result is a very sweet tincture that is why it is helpful to have around with children that would not otherwise drink any vinegar or alcohol tasking tinctures.
I honestly really like the sweet taste of the glycerin made tinctures and most alcohol free pre-made tinctures are glycerin based not apple cider vinegar. But I find that it more efficient for shelf life to just do alcohol tinctures as my children are able to take a lot of their medicine without any fuss. When they were littler, glycerin tinctures are very helpful though and I do know many herbalist that use tinctures with clients regularly because the sweetness makes it easier for people to take herbal remedies.
Measuring
If you ever see something in a book or someone mention something to you about ratios and tincture making that might look or sound something like 1:5, 40%… This numbers simply tell you about the ration of the plant per the ratio of the alcohol. A 1:5 ratio simply means that it is a 1 part plant material per 5 part alcohol.
You would apply this to however you are measuring your plant material in whatever weight methods.
For example, if you are using herbs in ounces you would put 1 oz of herb per 5 oz of alcohol.
The same rule would apply to measuring in ML or TBSP or cups.
In most cases a 1:2 ratio means that a fresh plant is being used while a 1:4, 1:5 or 1:6 ratio is a dried plant material.
When you look at labels of tinctures that you buy at the store, it is important to note that the way that companies make tinctures differs than the homemade methods. The process is more standardized with specific ratios of plant material to alcohol as well as the type of alcohol that is used is a lot stronger that commercial alcohol one would use at home. It is also diluted to specific requirements of the plant.
Drying
Many herbs are fairly easy to air dry. I like to give them a good rinse before picking them to dry them. Once you harvest your plant, get it inside to process as soon as you can and not leave it outside. I mostly like to dry the herbs in a single layer on a drying rack. I find it the easy to do and prevents the plants from crumbling all together with other things. Fro thicker material like dandelion heads or calendula blossoms turn the flower heads often to make sure that the material is evenly dried.
If your area is more humid, you can place a fan or dehumidifier in your dryer area helps to reduce the risk of mold forming on your plant and prevents it from spoiling.
I also like to use the upside-down drying method for herbs and sometimes during harvesting season, my own house looks like an herb drying paradise. With this method, remove the bottom leaves from the stem, tie several stems together and hang the bundle upside down in an area where direct sunlight does not reach it for several weeks.
For large leaves you can use a needle and thread to go through the thick stem and string them garland style before hanging the strands.
Herbs can also be dried using a low temperature setting dehydrator. These can be pricey to get but if you have one, this is the easiest method.
Freezing
This method is very useful when you have abundant herbs and would like to store them for culinary purposes. There are some things you can look at when freezing herbs.
- Water – Chop up your herbs into sizes that you would want them to be when you are ready to use them. Place the herbs in ice cube trays and pool filtered water over them. Place them in the freezer and store them until you are ready to use them.
- Oil – This method is the same as the water method except that you would substitute an oil of your choice (coconut, olive) and freeze the herbs in oil instead of water. Another thing you can do is to blend your herbs with your desired oil in a blender creating a nice pesto like paste and then filling the ice cube trays with them.
- Solo- Lay the herbs flat out on a single layer cookie sheet. Once frozen move them over to an airtight container to be stored in a freezer until you use them. Some plant material may oxidize when frozen, so this method is not suitable for all plants.
Herb Infused Oil
Using herbs in an herb infused oil is a great way to use the herb and preserve it right away. There are many different DIY recipes for herb infused oil and they involve a carrier oil and time to infuse it (sort of like the tincture method) This is one way that you can use up a lot of the herb if you have an abundant of an herb that can help with things like skin issues and also for culinary purposes.
Canning
You propably think about food and preserving food when I mention canning but some herbs can be canned and used as syrups, jams or preserves that can later be canned to extend the herbs shelf life. When you think about herbs, think of elderberries, hawthorn berry as a jam, violet flower as a syrup. All have tremendous value medicinally but can also be preserved through canning. The think about canning is that it takes a longer amount of time for some recipes and can prove to be time consuming. If you feel like you love the canning process or have done canning with vegetables, then this might be the easier option for you.
Herb Infused Butter
You have probably heard of herb butter with garlic which makes the butter super yummy. But you can also use any herb you want in order to infuse it with butter. It is best to use softened butter with this method. You simply chop the herb and mix it into the butter and freeze the butter for future use. You can also spread the butter out on a sheet of parchment paper and roll it up in a cylinder like a log and freeze it for future use. (2)
Storing Herbs
Unless you are using any sort of refrigeration with the herbs you are preserving, the products should be stores in a cool dark place away from any direct sunlight or any sources of heat. If you are storing the herbs properly then it is likely to prolong the shelf life of the herb you are preserving.
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