Not all tinctures have to be made with alcohol. A vinegar tincture is also useful, and is a nicer way to get the herbs INTO the person who may otherwise object to the idea of alcohol(even if it is mere drops).
Vinegar tinctures are also nice to add to your food, like salad dressings. This is the perfect time of year to experiment with using vinegar tinctures, when the gardens are bursting with delicious bounty just crying out for a simple oil and vinegar topping. I make an alfalfa and vinegar tincture now, since the alfalfa is growing like crazy.
If possible, use organic apple cider vinegar. If you do not have access to an organic type, at least use a vinegar that contains the mother, so it also will have the living enzymes. Never use white vinegar for your tinctures.
Remember that as with any tincture, vinegar tinctures need at least 2 weeks to sit before they are ready to use. Also, unlike an alcohol based tincture, these do have a shelf life of 1 year.
For more info, read:
How To Make A Vinegar Tincture
Do you make vinegar tinctures? What herbs do you use?
Comments
Thanks for the info!
As a fellow at-home tincture maker my all time favorite manual on the subject is Charles Kane’s Herbal Medicine-Trends and Traditions. This one has water/alcohol ratios for 400-500 herbs and worksheets/specific instructions for making percolations and fluidextracts (to my knowledge this is the only herbal with this info). Beats buying them at the store for $15 an oz! I’m also a skeptic by nature, so the book’s references put my mind at ease when discussing specific uses for each plant….definitely in my top-10.