Anyone Else Make Extracts?

[Mistwalker]

I've been making plant extracts, root and flower, for the last 6 years. I've never sweetened my extracts with honey, but I'm told I can and I;d like to. Was curious if anyone here does and how they go about it.

Pictures mostly because I enjoy using the Ultralite P90 I got from Stuart for this, it's like an herb lore scalpel

The stem on that garlic clove has grown more than 5 times it's original size since I started this batch a week ago. It's in 190 proof grain alcohol. I find this confusing.

 

[Toddy]

I make extracts too.

To be honest though, I don't sweeten them until point of use. I reckon soaking in the alcohol is probably the best preservative. I add either honey or plain syrup (easy to make with simple sugar and water) just before I use them.

The only one I don't really do that to is Valerian root, which really kind of tastes like peas and doesn't need any sweetening to make it palatable. I just add some drops into hot water and drink that like tea when I find I can't get to sleep easily.

Not sweetening them means that I can add them to ointments (meadowsweet for instance, natural pain relief) or creams (comfrey root in hand cream)

Having said all that sometimes a tisane's easier.

I do make syrups, though if you look for older recipes they're often called robs, of stuff like elderberries, for a cough.....or the grated onion covered in sugar. I like pine honey too, again, just covered in sugar and the syrup is very good.

What do you make ? what do you use the extracts for ?

 

[Mistwalker]

I make extracts too.

To be honest though, I don't sweeten them until point of use. I reckon soaking in the alcohol is probably the best preservative. I add either honey or plain syrup (easy to make with simple sugar and water) just before I use them.

The only one I don't really do that to is Valerian root, which really kind of tastes like peas and doesn't need any sweetening to make it palatable. I just add some drops into hot water and drink that like tea when I find I can't get to sleep easily.

Not sweetening them means that I can add them to ointments (meadowsweet for instance, natural pain relief) or creams (comfrey root in hand cream)

Having said all that sometimes a tisane's easier.

I do make syrups, though if you look for older recipes they're often called robs, of stuff like elderberries, for a cough.....or the grated onion covered in sugar. I like pine honey too, again, just covered in sugar and the syrup is very good.

What do you make ? what do you use the extracts for ?

Thank you for the information! I didn't think about waiting till use to sweeten it

I make a few different extracts for different reasons.

I started making the ginseng extract first, about 6 or 7 years ago when I thought it would be a good way to preserve some of the great effects the ginseng tea had through the winter long after the roots would be gone if only maing teas. I made that one only with the intentions of it being medicinal an immune system booster as well as other reasons.

Then I started making extracts from roots and seeds I like that largely disappear over the winter; garlic, onion, dandelion, black walnut, to add to my soups as a way of adding that nutrition to my sounds and as another layer of medicinal use in daily life.

And I make one from flowers; golden rod, dandelion, meadow goats beard, purple dead nettle and clover, and that was the one I was thinking of sweetening to add to syrups or hot cereals in the mornings as another layer of medicinal diet.

And next spring I want to do some berries.

I make another from

I'm mostly holistic, and live in a rain forest full of lots of things. So I'm getting