How To Make Herbal Glycerites: Tinctures Without Alcohol
Glycerites are sweet herbal tinctures which use vegetable glycerin to extract the medicinal constituents and flavor from an herb. Herbal tinctures are typically made from alcohol, but glycerin is a good alternative for children, animals, and adults when palatability and alcohol sensitivities are primary considerations. While not as potent as alcohol-based tinctures, glycerites are still quite effective – certainly more so than trying to administer a dose of alcohol-based tincture to a tight-lipped child! Glycerites are effective no matter what reason you have for wanting to make tinctures without alcohol as the base.
Vegetable glycerin is a clear, odorless liquid produced from vegetable oils such as palm, soy, or coconut oil using high temperature and pressure to split the glycerin molecule from the fatty acids. While sweet, it is not metabolized by the body like sugar. For the highest quality glycerite, look for an organic, sustainably harvested, non-GMO glycerin. (Mountain Rose Herbs offers an organic, soy-based glycerin.)
Fresh plants are ideal for glycerin tinctures because glycerin excels at preserving the fresh plant juices. However, glycerin is not as effective as alcohol at drawing constituents out of the cell structure of dried plants (Cech, 2000). Fresh flowers and aromatic plants such as lavender, lemon balm, mint, chamomile, violet and rose can be used to make particularly delightful glycerites that are lovely mixed into iced or hot herbal teas, fruit sauces, and cocktails, or drizzled over yogurt, ice cream, and desserts. Lavender glycerite and chocolate cake? Yes, please!
Dried elderberries and fresh echinacea roots can be used to make effective glycerites (Cech, 2000) to support immune response to infections such as colds and flu. Glycerites can also be mixed with alcohol-based tinctures to sweeten them. Lemon balm glycerite is a welcome addition to St. John’s wort tincture for mood support during the long winter months (use approximately 4 parts alcohol tincture to 1 part glycerite, or to taste).
The arrival of spring in New England brings the sweet and hardy little violet, whose purple, yellow, and white blooms are a sight for sore eyes and a balm for our hearts, lungs, and skin. The spring blossoms are not seed-bearing (those come in the autumn), and are delightful in salads, teas, honeys, and – you guessed it – glycerite. Let’s celebrate by preserving violet’s medicine to enjoy throughout the year, and let’s make this tincture without alcohol.
How to Make a Glycerite
Glycerites can be made using fresh or dried plant material, as follows:
- Fill a clean jar with clean, chopped fresh plant material or half-full of ground dried plant material (dried material will expand as it absorbs liquid).
- For successful preservation, a glycerine tincture should contain at least 55% glycerin (Cech, 2000). For fresh plants, add enough glycerin to fully cover the plant material and fill jar to within one inch of the top. For dried plants, dilute glycerin with distilled water in a 3:1 ratio (3 parts glycerin to one part water) and fill jar with mixture to within one inch of the top.
- Use a knife or chopstick to poke into plant material and release air bubbles while adding glycerin or glycerin/water mixture.
- Cap and label jar, and set the jar in a dark location at room temperature. Let macerate for 4-6 weeks, shaking the bottle every day or two to mix. Top off with glycerin as necessary if plant material pokes above the top of the liquid.
- After 4-6 weeks, decant glycerite into a jar or bowl by pouring through a strainer lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. With clean hands, gather corners of cheesecloth together and squeeze herb material to express every last drop of glycerite.
- Bottle and label glycerite.
Glycerites have a shelf life of approximately one to two years if stored in a cool, dark place. Adult dosage is typically approximately 30-60 drops (1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon), 3 times daily, taken in a little water.
Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of herbal medicine and how to make other herbal preparations? We invite you to learn more in the Online Introductory Herbal Course or in the Online Intermediate Herbal Course. Join us as we discover the wild and wonderful world of plant medicine!
This article was written by Jane Cookman Metzger, proprietress of Earth Muse Herbals, herbal apprentice at Gaia School of Healing, and lover of the green world’s beauty, wisdom, and magic. Photos for this article were provided by Jane Cookman Metzger as well.
REFERENCES
Bennett, Robin Rose. (2014). The Gift of Healing Herbs. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books
Cech, Richo. (2000). Making Plant Medicine. Williams, OR: Horizon Herbs
Gladstar, Rosemary. (2001). Family Herbal. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing
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When using glycerin do you thin with distilled water? I found the glycerin too thick on it’s own when I was making lemon balm tincture. According to the article dosage is approximately 30-60 drops up to 3 times daily. Does the amount you take depend on what herbs you are using and whether you are a child or adult? Thanks
Hi Renee! Jane doesn’t add water to glycerites unless dried plants are used – see Step #2.
The dosage often depends on the herbs you’re taking, and will definitely depend on whether you’re a child (amount depends on age) or an adult. For specific dosing guidelines, we recommend a book like Medical Herbalism by David Hoffman, and Rosemary Gladstar has good info about herbs for children in her Herbs for Family Health book.
Renee,
Because the water content of fresh plants varies so much, I erred on the side of caution in the instructions and didn’t dilute the glycerin to ensure that the glycerite would be shelf-stable. If it’s too thick, you could add a little distilled water to thin it out before or after the maceration period. In his book Making Medicine, Richo Cech gives very detailed information about calculating the glycerin content and the glycerin:distilled water:fresh plant ratio. I typically use a 4:1 glycerin:distilled water ratio for fresh plant and haven’t had any problems with preservation.
Another fascinating article! Thank you!
This looks delightful! I am a little hesitant to use any soy based glycerine due to the issue of most soys being gmo nowadays to meet the market demand. (It is “cool” to go soy so they need more of it and the easiest way to produce it is to gmo it. I read that 90% of all soy based products are now gmo). What might be another alternative?
Please disregard my previous question. I misread your recommendations. My apologies.
No worries :)
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Very intriguing, I go on holiday to here in a couple of weeks and this blog has really
prepared me for the the brilliant Italian herbs and spices! Thanks for sharing
Is it normal for foamy air bubbles to stay on top of the glycerite after shaking?
Yes, the bubbles will settle down a bit after shaking.
I made a glycerite using the 3:1 glycerin to distilled water method with dried cornflower blossoms. I used the crockpot method to speed things up a bit on the warm setting. I then carefully straining twice through coffee filter, after a day or 2 the mixture has become cloudy in my storage container. Do you think this is a bacterial/yeast bloom? Should I toss it and start over? My jars were clean but wasn’t sure if flowers as opposed to herbs would make this difference as my lady’s mantle glycerite is fine. Thanks!
Caroline,
I’m not really sure what is happening here. It sounds like you have a high percentage of glycerin to water, so that shouldn’t be a problem, and you used distilled water. The plant material you used was dry so didn’t add any add’l water to the mixture (and for the record, flowers vs. other herbs shouldn’t matter, and in fact glycerites are an ideal way to preserve fresh flowers). I’ve never heated a glycerite so I’m not sure if that may have contributed to the cloudiness or if some bacteria was introduced at some point during the process. To be safe, I’d start over, make sure everything is nice and clean and don’t heat it. This will require more patience, unfortunately, since you’ll have to let it steep! Let us all know how it turns out.
I love this article!