This entry is a continuation of the previous blog entry here and comes from the same source: article by Sara Greer in the 2002 Herbal Almanac by Llewellyn......
The process of cold maceration is as simple as the description given in previous blog entry. To start, take a clean glass jar, preferably with a lined or nonmeta lid. Select your herbs, making sure they won't fill the jar more than two-thirds of the way. If you are using fresh herbs, pack them gently down. Fresh or dried leaves and flowers may be left whole, but seeds should be bruised and rioots sliced or borken up. Pour your oil over the herbs, making sure to cover them by a depth of an inch or more. If the herbs tend to float, or if you see a lot of air bubbles among them, stir the herbs into the oil with a clean nonmetal spoon or chopstick. A few tiny air bubbles are nothing to worry about, since the oil will usually percolate throughout the mass of herb.
Cover your maceration tightly. If your jar has a metal lid, put a layer of plastic wrap over the mouth of the jar to keep the maceration fromk contacting the metal. Label your jar with the contents and date it, putting it on shelf in a cool dark place. In my experience closets are great, as long as they don't contain a hot water heater. You might want to check the maceration after a day or two. Some dried herbs tend to absorbe a lot of oil, so depending on which herbs you have used you may need to pour more oil into the jar. On the other hand some fresh herbs may cause a very full jar to overflow, and any signs of leakage can be countered by putting a plate under the jar to catch the drips.
Aftr four to eight weeks, you can go peek at your work. Fresh herb macerations will be ready by now, but if used dried herbs or really tough fresh roots you may want to leave it at least a month longer. I normally leave dry herb and seed or root macerations for up to nine months, leaves or fkowers for around four months. If the oil has changed color and taken on a strong scent of the herbs, you're probably looking at a finished maceration. Many herbalists also develop a sixth sense that tells them very clearly whether something is ready or not, so if you get that familiar tug at your awareness listen to it.
The Advantages of Cold Maceration
The difference between cold maceration and other methods of extracting the properties of herbs is that cold maceraton uses no added heat in the extraction process. Hot maceration uses moderate amounts of heat on the stove top to extract the herb's constituents in a few hours time. Warm maceraton, which normally involoves a Crock-pot or simmer-pot, uses low heat to hold maceraton at 110 to 120 degrees continuously for several days. Cold maceration extracts the plant constituents at room temperature, taking approximately one to six months depending on the herb and plant part used. It is similar to the tincturing process, but with oil as the solvent.
The unassisted process of extractioin sums up the essential qualities of cold maceration. As the maceration rests on its col dark shelf, the constituents of the plant matterpercolate gradually into the oil. The oil's color, scent and sometimes even texture change. Bit by bit as the weeks pass. The results are dramatically visible if you put a jar of maceration away in June and look at it next in October. That dried plantain leaf has turned the oil an intense green so dark it looks black, and the caendula macertion is an incredible orange-gold. Then there's the arnica/cayenne blend, which practically glows in the dark.
Cold maceration by its very nature has certain advantages. The primary advantage is that cold maceration maximizes the usefulness of dried herbgs. Dried plant material gives up its medicine more slowly than fresh material. Over the time periods normally used in cold maceration, the oil throroughly penetrates the dried plant matter and extracts the constituents. As long as the dried herb is still potent, you can get excellent results with cold maceration. This makes it a good technique for people who want to make their own herbal remedies but need to rely on dried herbs purchased from a shop or catalog. Plenty of urban herbalists have little no garden and are unable to purchase fresh herbs. They can make a lot effective medicines using cold maceration.
Another advantage is shelf life. Extraction by gradual percolation instead of by added heat doesn't 'cook' the oil or plant matter. Since this reduces the risk of rancitity, it can prolong the shelf life of the product. If spoilage is one of your concerns, cold maceration can help - a properly made and properly stored cold-macerated salve can keep for as long as six to eight years. If you are using cold maceration for this reason, though, I would advise making your maceration with dried or partially dried herbs. The extra moisture content from a fresh herb would offset the keeping advantages of an uncooked product. ]
Cold maceration has another good point: It doesn't require much tending. This can make your life as a herbalist much easier particularly if you travel a lot, work unpredictable hours, or have kids. Even if you're busy and stressed, you can get a cold maceration going in less than ten minutes and stash it on the closet shelf. A few months later, having ignored your maceration all the while, you can strain and bottle the oil in approximatey half an hour. If something complicates your schedule at the time you intended to filter out your oil, just leave the maceration on the shelf until you are able to finish it. Due to a series of unexpected events, I once left a jar of maceration sitting for almost two years. Not only was it still good when I filtered it, it yielded one of the best salves I've ever produced.
Cold maceration also has a couple of natural disadvantages, however. One is its mixed performance with fresh herbs. The high moisture content of some fresh herbs can result in mold or other spoilage while your maceration soaks. It does well with oily or woody herbs, such as rosemary, or St. John's wort, but cold maceration is a poor method for making infused oils with soft succulent herbs ike comfrey or fresh flowers. You can partially offset this by letting fresh herbs dry for a day or two before putting them into your maceratin, or by floating a layer of vodka on top of the oil to soak up moisture. But frankly, your best bet is to infuse most juicy fresh herbs with warm or hot maceration instead of the cold technique. The heat drives off any extra moisture, or leaves it in a separate layer on the bottom of the pot.
Another disadvantage is that some oils don't work well as a medium for cold maceration. Any oil with a fairly short shelf life should not be used for cold maceration since the oil itself may spoil before the maceration is finished. I always use extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil, which keeps well for a long time under the approximately 60-degree temperature in my herb closet.
Oveall, cold maceration is a wonderfully flexible oil infusion technique. During my hectic summers, I need only one quiet weekend to get my whole winter's stock of oils going. I can filter them out during the year on an as-needed basis, and can easily control the strength of each maceration. Since the oils have a long shelf life, I can filter an oil in a few spare minutes and make salve out of it weeks and months later. My cold macerations fit into the changing rhythm of my life, as these oil develop at the same gntle steady pace as the year itself - the same pact that creates the rhythms of birth, growth, and death in the plant realm.
Another advantage is shelf life. Extraction by gradual percolation instead of by added heat doesn't 'cook' the oil or plant matter. Since this reduces the risk of rancitity, it can prolong the shelf life of the product. If spoilage is one of your concerns, cold maceration can help - a properly made and properly stored cold-macerated salve can keep for as long as six to eight years. If you are using cold maceration for this reason, though, I would advise making your maceration with dried or partially dried herbs. The extra moisture content from a fresh herb would offset the keeping advantages of an uncooked product. ]
Cold maceration has another good point: It doesn't require much tending. This can make your life as a herbalist much easier particularly if you travel a lot, work unpredictable hours, or have kids. Even if you're busy and stressed, you can get a cold maceration going in less than ten minutes and stash it on the closet shelf. A few months later, having ignored your maceration all the while, you can strain and bottle the oil in approximatey half an hour. If something complicates your schedule at the time you intended to filter out your oil, just leave the maceration on the shelf until you are able to finish it. Due to a series of unexpected events, I once left a jar of maceration sitting for almost two years. Not only was it still good when I filtered it, it yielded one of the best salves I've ever produced.
Cold maceration also has a couple of natural disadvantages, however. One is its mixed performance with fresh herbs. The high moisture content of some fresh herbs can result in mold or other spoilage while your maceration soaks. It does well with oily or woody herbs, such as rosemary, or St. John's wort, but cold maceration is a poor method for making infused oils with soft succulent herbs ike comfrey or fresh flowers. You can partially offset this by letting fresh herbs dry for a day or two before putting them into your maceratin, or by floating a layer of vodka on top of the oil to soak up moisture. But frankly, your best bet is to infuse most juicy fresh herbs with warm or hot maceration instead of the cold technique. The heat drives off any extra moisture, or leaves it in a separate layer on the bottom of the pot.
Another disadvantage is that some oils don't work well as a medium for cold maceration. Any oil with a fairly short shelf life should not be used for cold maceration since the oil itself may spoil before the maceration is finished. I always use extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil, which keeps well for a long time under the approximately 60-degree temperature in my herb closet.
Oveall, cold maceration is a wonderfully flexible oil infusion technique. During my hectic summers, I need only one quiet weekend to get my whole winter's stock of oils going. I can filter them out during the year on an as-needed basis, and can easily control the strength of each maceration. Since the oils have a long shelf life, I can filter an oil in a few spare minutes and make salve out of it weeks and months later. My cold macerations fit into the changing rhythm of my life, as these oil develop at the same gntle steady pace as the year itself - the same pact that creates the rhythms of birth, growth, and death in the plant realm.
No comments:
Post a Comment