Infusion

Leaves and flowers and some whole plants are soluble in liquids, usually water. There are two kinds of infusions: hot and cold.

The cold infusion consists of a soaking in cold water or milk for several hours. The herb is then strained. Use a cold infusion when the active principles of the plant are highly volatile or when it could be injured by heat. This will be noted in the text. Occasionally milk infusions are used to increase the healing ability of herb poultices and compresses.

The hot infusion the most frequently used of all herb preparations is produced by pouring boiling water over the herb or herb part and steeping the infusion in a covered container for fifteen minutes to a half hour, or even longer if the infusion is to be used cold. Herbal "teas" are usually infusions. Some are decoctions (see below).

To Make an Infusion

Usually 1 teaspoon of an herb to 1 cup boiling water is sufficient. But you may use more for weak teas. Use 2 teaspoons of a fresh herb. Leaves, flowers, and berries should be slightly bruised to help release their aromatic oils.

When making aromatic teas for table use, warm the teapot slightly, steep the herb for a few minutes, and then strain the liquid into your cup. Herbal teas may be used piping hot with bruised seeds such as fennel, anise, caraway, coriander, or cumin for both taste and stomach easing qualities, or cold, or with ice. In the summer we make up big batches of peppermint tea and keep it in the refrigerator. But there are many excellent combinations of herbal blends you can make yourself.

To Preserve an Infusion for Medicinal Use

1. Strain the infusion while hot, and pour it into a bottle with a tight stopper. The bottle must be quite filled, and the stopper made to displace its own bulk of liquid. The hotter the liquid and the freer it is from air bubbles, the better the infusion will keep. A bottle with a perforated cork stopper may also be used, and the hole instantly closed with a sealing wax.

2. Another way to preserve an infusion is to make a very concentrated tea, actually three times as strong as the ordinary infusion. Add I part alcohol to every 3 parts infusion. (With3/4 cup infusion, use 1/4 cup alcohol.) Since this infusion will be three times as strong as the average infusion, it may be diluted with three measures of water and used when needed.