Guest guest Posted April 19, 2005 Report Share Posted April 19, 2005 Here are some ideas from my notes that I've cobbled from various sources. If anyone here has more to add, perhaps another variation or system that has worked for you, I'd love to add it to my notes! Infused Oil: I would take the flower, what ever parts you want. Put them in a clear glass jar. Cover completely with oil or your plant material might get moldy. Use utensil or chop stick to poke the air bubbles out of plant material. Some people use jojoba or fractionated coconut since they have a long shelf life, but you could use whatever you have on hand. You could add vitamin e to improve oil stability. Cold Infusion - Takes longer but retains more volatile chemicals than hot infusion. Let your infusion sit in a dark, warm location for 2 or 3 weeks or until the oil takes on a pronounced taste and smell of the plant. Some people leave theirs in for years, this part is very variable. Strain through muslin or cheesecloth. You may refill the jar and steep more botanicals if you like at this point with the same oil to increase strength. You can repeat the process multiple times as necessary to get the right strength of oil. Adding a drop of preservative resin, such as tincture of benzoin, liquid benzoin resin, or tincture of myrrh, will help it keep its savor. Hot Infusion - This process is similar but you can speed it up with heat application. Put botanicals in heat resistant container (stainless steel or crock) and cover with oil. Place this in a double boiler or crock pot with water. Cook three or four hours until the botanicals become burn or crispy looking. Strain as above. The process may be repeated as often as desired. The oil can be used as a roll-on perfume. Heavenly! Tincture - I've just discovered alcohol tinctures, and I've been tincturing several different things. My favorite right now is fresh chamomile flowers. Cardamon pods are very nice too. I think I've had a bit of success tincturing orris root powder for a fixative. I'm interested in creating atomizing perfumes. You could do this with your magnolia blossoms. Use an alcohol that is the highest proof you can get your hands on. Fortunately, I can buy Everclear at the liquor store - that's what I use. The process is similar to the cold infusion of oil, but use alcohol instead. Do not use hot infusion method for alcohol tinctures, how would you explain the kitchen fire to housemates? Good luck with those magnolia flowers Kathy! Pamela On Behalf Of Kathy N Monday, April 18, 2005 7:03 PM Magnolia Hi All, I have a beautiful Magnolia tree in full bloom in my backyard and I would love to be able to bottle up the fragrance of these gorgeous flowers. Any ideas how I can do it? Is it possible? And simple? And is it possible without some sort of fancy distillation equipt? Thanks! Kathy N Sterling Heights, MI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2005 Report Share Posted April 19, 2005 I am sorry Pamela, but I have an issue with your description of boiling herbs, etc to get the scent. You wrote: << Hot Infusion - This process is similar but you can speed it up with heat application. Put botanicals in heat resistant container (stainless steel or crock) and cover with oil. Place this in a double boiler or crock pot with water. Cook three or four hours until the botanicals become burn or crispy looking. Strain as above. The process may be repeated as often as desired. >> I was taught to NEVER boil the herbs/flowers to the crisp stage, but to keep the water in the double boiler to a low simmer for some time.. C-M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2005 Report Share Posted April 19, 2005 Thanks for the feedback! This information about crispy herbs is from an old text that a member on another list I'm on quoted in a listfile. I probably should have left that part out, I think you would lose some of your volatile aromatics with this method. I don't usually heat my oils, but if you want to capture a plant that is only in bloom for a short while, it might save time. I'm sure your method is better. The important thing, I think, is to begin experimenting, and keep good notes ;-) I'm still learning, I sure do welcome thoughts and suggestions! Thanks, ~Pamela , Christa Maria <cmaria@t...> wrote: > I am sorry Pamela, but I have an issue with your description of boiling > > SNIP <> > > I was taught to NEVER boil the herbs/flowers to the crisp stage, but to keep the water in the double boiler to a > low simmer for some time.. > C-M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2005 Report Share Posted April 19, 2005 On Behalf Of Christa Maria Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:27 AM Re: infusion of Magnolia I am sorry Pamela, but I have an issue with your description of boiling herbs, etc to get the scent. You wrote: << Hot Infusion - This process is similar but you can speed it up with heat application. Put botanicals in heat resistant container (stainless steel or crock) and cover with oil. Place this in a double boiler or crock pot with water. Cook three or four hours until the botanicals become burn or crispy looking. Strain as above. The process may be repeated as often as desired. >> I was taught to NEVER boil the herbs/flowers to the crisp stage, but to keep the water in the double boiler to a low simmer for some time.. C-M I have to agree with Christa-Maria. When doing a warm infusion, you never want your Bain Marie water to come to a boil, and you never want your plant material to become crispy. You want just enough heat to warm the inner container of oil to never get above 100 degrees. Use a candy thermometer. Sun extraction works best with aerial parts of the plant, the leaves and flowers; heavy stems and roots do better in the low-heat Bain Marie method. These are some of my notes from classes I taught. Hot Infused oils: Hot infusion is the process usually used with freshly wilted plant material and involves stirring chopped herb and oil together in heated oil in a double boiler. Be very careful not to heat oil to boiling temperatures. It is very easy to burn your herb, so be very careful. Heat until the herb loses its color and becomes pale green or yellow. Another way is to put your herbs and oil in a situation where you can maintain a constant temperature of 100 degrees for ten days. (A crockpot with a separate thermostat..or using a meat roaster or yogurt maker works.) A light box is another way to control and maintain temperature in the container with herb/oil. Be well, Marcia Elston, Samara Botane, http://www.wingedseed.com " First of all, cultivate a contented spirit; a garden is a good place to begin. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Thank you everyone who replied, for your suggestions and clarifications! I think I might try an infusion method for my marshmallow too when it comes up this year! Has Marshmallow been an " herb of the week " yet? Warm regards, Kathy N Sterling Heights, MI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 I have another question about infusing fresh plant material -- should it always be dried or at least wilted before binfusing, or is it ever OK to use it fresh? I know it should be dried before cold infusing, but what about with the 100 deg. warm infsuing method? Will the heat dissapate the moisture enough for this to be OK? Thanks bunches! Roxanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Dear Roxanne, I like to use fresh herb over dried herb when making my infused oils because the fresh herb has more violatile oils in it. I have not joined in on this thread because I use a long-term, aged infusion method and this thread appears to be interested in using short term infusion methods. I have also infused magnolia blossoms successfully in the past using the long-term method. There are as many ways to infuse as there are eos. Good luck and enjoy your infusions. Now for a share with everyone. This morning I was out harvesting Lemon Balm from my yard when I cut myself with my cutting shears pretty deep and started bleeding. Boy, was I mad at myself for doing that but then I realized that I was growing helichrysum plants with the Lemon Balm. So I picked a " leaf " not a flower off the heli plant and placed it on the bleeding cut. Within seconds the bleeding had stopped and this was only with the leaf of a heli augustofolia plant. Was I surprised? You bet I was! So I decided to share this with all of ya'll about the amazing, quick healing properties of heli to stop bleeding and start healing the cut. Have a great day, everyone! I'm back to harvesting fresh herbs for infusions. Rhavda Emison Scents of Success (http://www.scentsofsuccess.com) Texas Grown - USA Made Rose Oil & Aromatherapy Products Rose, Helichrysum, Oak Moss, Melissa & Aromatherapy Products Original Message: ----------------- gentlelake gentlelake Wed, 20 Apr 2005 13:14:50 -0000 Re: infusion of Magnolia I have another question about infusing fresh plant material -- should it always be dried or at least wilted before binfusing, or is it ever OK to use it fresh? I know it should be dried before cold infusing, but what about with the 100 deg. warm infsuing method? Will the heat dissapate the moisture enough for this to be OK? Thanks bunches! Roxanne -- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Here is what I was told to do when I was taking classes from a master herbalist. I took my fresh comfrey leaves, chopped them up and covered them with olive oil in a mason jar, set the lid on so it was NOT on properly (I guess you could leave it off but this way is better)so that MOISTURE from the fresh plant could evaporate. I set that in a hot water bath in my crockpot and set it on low (make sure your crockpot has a low) and left it overnight. I have a beautiful comfrey infusion and a year later NO mold which is the problem often with using fresh plants that have moisture in them. anne I have another question about infusing fresh plant material -- should it always be dried or at least wilted before binfusing, or is it ever OK to use it fresh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Thanks Rhavda and Anne! Roxanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 I have a question regarding infusing fresh plant material..I have lilacs blooming all over and I so want to infuse them, but because they are such a fragile plant, will it work? Has anyone infused their lilacs successfully, and how did you do it? Cherry , " gentlelake " <gentlelake@j...> wrote: > > I have another question about infusing fresh plant material -- should > it always be dried or at least wilted before binfusing, or is it ever > OK to use it fresh? > > I know it should be dried before cold infusing, but what about with > the 100 deg. warm infsuing method? Will the heat dissapate the > moisture enough for this to be OK? > > Thanks bunches! > > Roxanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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