Herbal Infusions

Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.

Hippocrates

It’s easy to say “my food is my medicine,” but what does that actually look like? In my mind, food as medicine means cooking with herbs, drinking them, and often time, using them topically as well. If you’re not accustomed to this, then the change can be daunting, but as always, I have some tips that will help you incorporate herbs into your daily routine.

Simple Infusion

First, we’ll talk about a simple infusion. This infusion is pretty basic since you only need the herb and water (in a 1oz to 1qt ratio, typically). This isn’t to be confused with tisane (or herbal tea). You may steep the herb in boiled water for up to 4hrs, or you may leave the water room temperature and allow the herb to sit overnight. Either way, your water will infuse with the herb and extract the water soluble vitamins and minerals from the herb. This simple infusion should be drank throughout the day.

Herbal Tea (Tisane)

Next up, we’ll look at the tisane infusion. Tisane, or herbal tea, is also pretty easy to make, since like the simple infusion, you only need the herb (about 2tbsp) and the water. The water will need to boil, and a tea strainer or bag is recommended to hold the herb. After boiling the water, you’ll pour it over your herb, and allow it to sit for 20 minutes before drinking. Personally, I like to cover my tea while it’s steeping, but then it takes additional time to cool down. However, it should be drank after the cool down.

Herbal Decoction

Similar to tisane and simple infusion, a herbal decoction will also need herbs (about 1oz) and water (1 pint). However, the herbs used here would be harder, like the root, bark, and/or seeds of a plant. You’ll need a heat source for boiling the water and a strainer for a clean end product. To create the decoction, you’ll combine your water and your herbs in the pot, then bring the mix to a boil. Once at a boil, you’ll turn your water down to a simmer, and it should simmer for about 20 minutes. This should produce about a half pint of infused water, and after it cools down, it will be ready to drink.

Tincture (Liquid Extract)

After the many ways to infuse herbs with water, we’ll switch lanes a bit by using alcohol. a tincture is also a herbal infusion, but instead of water, you’ll use ingestible alcohol.

Infused Oil

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