Photo by Getty Images/SutidaS
This tincture is a vital ingredient in the Rose, Lemon Balm, and Ginger Elixir recipe for emotional detox. It also helps to alleviate digestive and upper-respiratory infections. Since tinctures last for years, consider making extra to keep on hand! yield: 3 ounces.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce by weight ginger, finely chopped
- 3 ounces brandy
Supplies:
- Scale
- Cutting board and knife
- Measuring cup
- 1 glass half-pint jar with lid
- Waxed paper
- Potato ricer
- Label
Many small farms throughout the U.S. offer fresh ginger, so start looking for it at your farmers market or community-supported agriculture program (CSA). If you use fresh ginger, tincture it as above, but use 2 ounces of alcohol instead of 3 ounces.
Instructions:
- Place the ginger in the glass jar, and pour in the brandy. Shake vigorously.
- Line the lid of the jar with a square of waxed paper; this stops the alcohol from eating away at the lining of the lid and leaking metal and BPA into your tincture.
- Let sit for 4 to 6 weeks in a cool, dark place, such as a pantry. Gently shake the jar daily.
- Using a potato ricer, strain the tincture to extract the last, strongest part, and then return the liquid to the jar and label it. Feed the used ginger to your chickens, or compost it.
- Store your jar in a cool, dark place.
Read more:
Juliette Abigail Carr, Registered Herbalist (AHG), RNC, is a clinical herbalist and the proprietor of Old Ways Herbal School of Plant Medicine, which offers various courses on herbalism in person and online. She also offers long-distance appointments specializing in trauma-informed care for women and people with uteruses. Read more and contact her at Old Ways Herbal and on Instagram @OldWaysHerbal.
