From page 25, third paragraph in my book Making Tinctures: Determining Formulas, Benefits, Safety, Dosage: Thus far we have looked at the first part of the formula – strength – only in terms of safety. When we look at the …
In my first book Making Tinctures: Beyond the Folk Method, I wrote a chapter on how to create a spreadsheet that will automatically provide the results needed for each herb tincture formula. The spreadsheet is exactly what I use for …
Problem with the Spreadsheet? Here’s how to fix it. Read more »
Updated August 15, 2021 Wow! Two and a half years later since I first started giving workshops. And then the pandemic hit. I hope everyone is now doing well. The times have really changed for all of us. Hopefully one …
When I wrote my previous book Making Tinctures: Beyond the Folk Method, I viewed glycerin, as many herbalists do, as a solvent equivalent to alcohol and treated it as such in making glycerites. However, in the years since that book was published, I have worked more with glycerites, as well as have done more research. As a result, I have discovered that there are many considerations including solubility and preservability which require another look at how to use glycerin in tincture formulas.
To explain how to use glycerin instead of alcohol in a formula for a tincture requires some understanding of what are the differences in properties between alcohol, water, and glycerin, and how each interacts with specific herbal constituents.
Following are some of the practical conclusions from both my research and my experience that define why and how I now apply glycerin to my own practice and that you may find useful.
