Lemon Balm Tincture to Preserve the Abundant Plant
One of latest ventures has been in the art of folk medicines. That’s a fancy phrase, but all it means is learning about herbs. For me, that includes growing them in our garden and sometimes foraging them myself. I have been making teas with many herbs, but more recently started delving into making my own tinctures.
My summer project was preserving our very abundant lemon balm bush. It’s a member of the mint family, so no wonder it’s starting to take over a bigger part of our garden. I’ll have to seriously trim it this spring.
Lemon Balm Tincture Benefits
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is classified as a “nervine plant”, it is well know to calm and soothe the nervous system.
With lots of antioxidants, it’s also praised for fending off coughs and fevers.
Preserving Lemon Balm Leaves
Preserving lemon balm in a tincture is quite straight forward. Simply put, chop your fresh leaves, stuff them into a jar and add a high proof alcohol. Store the jar away for 6-8 weeks and then strain the final tincture.
How to Make a Lemon Balm Tincture
What You’ll Need
- fresh or dried lemon balm leaves
- high-proof alcohol
- a glass jar with a lid
Lemon Balm Leaves
If you’re using fresh lemon balm, chop the leaves into smaller pieces to help release the oils and compounds. If using dried lemon balm, crumble it slightly to expose more surface area.
High Proof Alcohol
The alcohol will extract the active compounds from the plant material. I added 80 proof Everclear, although a lighter Vodka will work well for the thin leaves of a lemon balm bush.
Directions for Lemon Balm Tincture
- Pick the leaves (if you are foraging them fresh)
- Rinse the leaves in a cleaned sink
- Chop the leaves roughly (if using dried lemon balm, crumble slightly)
- Fill a jar to the top (if using dried, only fill jar 1/2-2/3 full)
- Add the alcohol all the way to the top
- Seal with a lid
- Store away from light for 6-8 weeks (like in a cupboard)
- Strain after 6-8 weeks through a mesh strainer
- Store tincture in small bottles with a dropper (for easy dosage and use)
Credits and My Error
I learned about this method from Arielle de Martinez who owns SubLuna. You can learn all about making your own tinctures from her blog at shopsubluna.com
I read back in her PDF about making tinctures from fresh herbs and realized I skipped a step – which is chopping the leaves. So I removed the leaves, chopped them and added them back into the jar.
How Much Tincture does 1-Quart Make
I strained the liquid from the leaves and squeezed until as much of the liquid came out.
1 quart strained down to just over a pint of lemon balm tincture.
Save Lemon Balm Tincture to Pinterest for Future
