# Canning/Herbal question?



## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

Hey all, I am not terribly familiar with canning methods, but I know that there are a lot of knowledgeable folks on here!

My wife makes herbal tinctures. They are largely used for encouraging milk production for nursing moms, but she is looking at branching out. Anyhow, we are in a it of a pickle (no canning pun intended). 

She normally allows the tinctures to brew/age for three weeks in mason jars. However, this last batch is only going to have about two weeks before we will need to harvest the product. She was invited to attend a trade show of sorts and didn't have time to put a large batch together, getting more ingredients in, etcetera. 

Since adding boiling water to the herbs (along with alcohol) is part of the initial brewing process, do you guys think that there would be any adverse effects to heating the jars in boiling water to try and expedite the process? They are sealed, so I am not worried about the alcohol burning off. We were also debating placing them in the oven at a very low temperature, although I think that if it is low enough to not damage the seals, it probably wouldn't do much good. 

Thoughts?


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Turtle, High heat will often destroy the active ingredients in your preparation, so subjecting them to a water bath could ruin your tincture. While steeping Herbs in boiling water is acceptable, they are not subjected to continued boiling/high temps, and trying to "expedite" the process when dealing with Herbal preparations usually ends in failure.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

camo2460 said:


> Turtle, High heat will often destroy the active ingredients in your preparation, so subjecting them to a water bath could ruin your tincture. While steeping Herbs in boiling water is acceptable, they are not subjected to continued boiling/high temps, and trying to "expedite" the process when dealing with Herbal preparations usually ends in failure.


Thank you! Yeah, that was what my gut was telling me. I appreciate the input!

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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

camo2460 said:


> Turtle, High heat will often destroy the active ingredients in your preparation, so subjecting them to a water bath could ruin your tincture. While steeping Herbs in boiling water is acceptable, they are not subjected to continued boiling/high temps, and trying to "expedite" the process when dealing with Herbal preparations usually ends in failure.


Quoted for truth. You can't shortcut the process and expect the same results.

If you learned from a knowledgeable local herbalist or read several books by different authors, their process is usually almost the same. There is a reason for that.

She will gain a LOT of credibility from other vendors at the show if she just tells them it is not ready yet. I make tinctures and grow medicinal herbs here. Every year the strengths differ, even using the same parameters to make them. More hot sun one year might benefit something while a cool rainy year might benefit another, you never know what Mother Nature has in store! Then there is a difference in harvest time. This year the Skullcap was very early, and the strength is low, compared to last year's tinctures. Cool and rainy did not benefit it. I can still use it, and it works, I just upped the dose. If I have one of those days where it is hard to even get up from sitting, I pull out a bottle from last year. For some reason the growing conditions (meaning the combination of constituents contained in the plant itself), my preparation, or both, made a difference.

As a comparison, look at wines. What makes one year better than others? Growing conditions! But also encourage her to experiment and explore. Try doing a half pint that way, most of the batch traditional, and a half pint another way then see how they come out.

You didn't mention what herbs. I always start with just a drop of a new herb/tincture to make sure I am not allergic or have a reaction to it. Then adjust the dose accordingly over time. Every years batches of herbs/tinctures I regularly use, I start with a half dose and go from there.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Ethyl alcohol has a boiling point of 172*F. A hot water bath might just boil away your alcohol or at least sorely dilute it.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

EXCELLENT POINT!!!! I can't believe that never entered my thought process. I'll need 20 lashes with an Au Dente noodle.


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