This is the requested cream recipe, it can be slightly fiddly in that it the addition of the herbal tea (or tincture/decoction) has to be very slow or the cream will seperate, I advise that you actually add less than 50 ml of the herbal tea, as too much water can make it seperate, probably best with 40 ml. If you want a lighter creamier cream then you would increase the amount of oil and reduce the amount of beeswax and vice versa
50ml homemade infused oil- infuse with herb/s of your choice or just use plain oil (any sort, depending on preference)
15g yellow beeswax, grated or finely cut
50 ml herbal tea,decoction, or tincture
Put the infused oil and beeswax into a small bowl or pan and the herbal tea, decocotion or tincture into another bowl or pan. Stand both bowls in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with water to just below the level of the liquids and put it on the stove. Bring water to boil, turn heat down and wait for beeswax to melt
Remove the roasting pan from the heat and allow it to cool a little. Pick up the bowl containing the herbal tea, using a folded cloth or oven glove, and pour it slowly into the oil, beating all the time with a hand held electric food mixer. It is important to pour very slowly, drops at a time, and to set the mixer at its lowest speed
Pour the cream into clean jars. When set, put the lids on the jars, label them with the name, date and use and store in a cool place. Beeswax creams will last for a few months. Creams made with tincture will keep longer than those made with teas and decocotions since they have the preserving power of the alcohol
I hope this is not too complicated, feel free to post any questions and i'll try my best to answer them! i'll be making the cream sometime in the next week or so, so i'll post some pics.
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Jesse
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Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 2188
Location: West Sussex
Posted: 10 Mar 2006 11:20 pm Post subject:
A tincture is a concentrated extract of the soluble constituents of roots, bark, seeds or aerial parts of the plant. There are a variety of methods and liquids you could use to extract the vital properties of the plant but to keep it simple you would use alcohol, (vodka, whisky, rum anything strong basically) for use in the home. You can use either either dried or fresh herbs (personally i prefer fresh as they contain more of the active ingredients or 'vital properties). The method is as follows:
Average strength is 1 part herb to 5 parts alcohol
1)Take 4oz fresh dried herb, place in a wide mouthed vessel and add a pint of alcohol
2)Close the jar and leave in a cool dark place for approximatley 2 weeks, Shake daily for about 30 seconds
3)After 2 weeks strain the contents, discard the herbs and keep the liquid, storing it in a clean preferably dark glass bottle. This is your tincture and will last several years
NB: for woody stems or roots of plants, store for 3 weeks as it takes longer for the extraction to occur
A decoction is basically boiling and then simmering the woody parts or roots of the plants in water and then straining. This will keep for only a couple of days. When you do this, keep the mixture covered to prevent the loss of any volatile oils.
If you use a tincture in your cream it will last a lot longer than a decoction.
I hope i've explained this ok, if any of you are going to attempt to make a tincture then you could always pm me with the plant you are going to use as methods can vary depending on the plant.
Lottie, i'm making some cream as you know, would you like me to make you a jar as well?
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Don't eat fruit and nuts. You are what you eat...
I never saw this post -yes please - I would love you too and would pay for it gladly.
Please could you let me know the best tincture herbs to use - now that they are growing I would like to make up some different ones for future use.
I guess it is ok to reduce the quantities of ratio herbs to vodka to cut down on expense of vodka?
I want to make a schnapps too, so don't want to buy a wheelbarrow full of booze - especially as I am tee total and it would get the villagers toungues (that's spelt wrong) wagging
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Would this be suitable for using a few drops of essential oils to flavour, and so use water instead of tincture?
I've not seen Greenlady post for a while. Mind you, I'm in no rush, I doubt the beeswax will disappear overnight! _________________ *All* tiles now up in the bathroom! A bit of grouting to go and it'll be a finished room
I have a recipe for a face and body cream that I use which includes beeswax and also essential oils if that is any help to you - but I would love to have greenlady's recipe too. _________________ Lottie the Allotment Lady
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