keep it simple, folks
The most common way to tincture is the old-fashioned way, known as the folk method or simpler’s method. No measuring tools other than your eyeballs are needed. Simply fill a canning jar with chopped fresh herb, or dried cut and sifted herb, leaving ½-inch of head room at the top, and cover with alcohol (called the menstruum). Be sure to cover the herbal material (called the macerate) completely to deter fermentation (mold). Note, too, that dried herbs will absorb a good deal of liquid, and dried berries and roots will double in size, making it necessary to check the liquid level often and replenish as needed. Cover tightly and stash in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks, checking the jar and giving it a turn or gentle shake every day.
At the end of the maceration period, strain off and discard (or compost) the menstruum through a mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth, reserving the liquid in a clean container. Squeeze out the cheesecloth to get every precious drop! Then, using a funnel, carefully pour the tincture into glass tincture bottles and secure their droppers. Finally, label each bottle with the type of tincture (i.e. “Motherwort Tincture”) and the date it was bottled. Store the finished tinctures in a dark place until needed.
extracting extraction
There may be times when you’ll want more consistency between varieties and batches of tinctures so that the same concentration of plant glycosides and alkaloids can be expected with each use. The method of tincturing to achieve this is referred to as weight-to-volume ratio formulating. Although it may sound intimidating, it isn’t terribly difficult. The general rule for this method is a 1:2 ratio for fresh herbs and a 1:5 ratio for dried herbs. Put another way, one ounce of fresh herb to two ounces of alcohol and one ounce of dried herb to five ounces of alcohol.
For example, let’s say you’ve harvested some catnip or feverfew from your garden that weighs a total of five ounces (a kitchen scale comes in handy for this). To tincture this amount of herb, you would use 10 ounces of alcohol (5 x 2). Similarly, if you are starting with five ounces of dried herb, you would use 25 ounces of alcohol (5 x 5). In either case, proceed as outlined in the folk method above.