How to Make a Glycerite

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Today you will learn two way’s to make a Glycerite. Then I show you a example recipe for a sleep Glycerite tincture. Before final showing you a video of the steps involved. But before that I’d like to tell you why herbs are awesome.

Many people don’t understand the power of herbs. They wonder why, herbalist or people who are interested in herbs.

Spend so much time and effort making herbal preparations.

The reason is, herbs work and once you know this and how good herbs are for your health.

Then there’s no turning back, in fact, you want to learn more.

The scope of herbal remedies is enormous. There are thousands of herbs and many different way’s to use them.

The study of herbs is never ending, there’s always something new to learn. A new healing herb to discover, a new way to use it.

In my opinion it’s far better using the natural healing power of herbs than conventional medicine.

Let me tell you why.

Recently I was reading a book on health symptoms and came across a word.

I’d never heard before “ Iatrogenesis “.

So I googled the term and found, Iatrogenesis is derived from the Greek word for “originating from a physician”. Interested I then dug deeper.

To put it simply the word means “medical errors”

Shockingly. Iatrogenic Deaths In The United States, annual death rate of 420,000 for drug errors and medical errors combined(¹).

What does this mean?

This is a conservative figure.

Lesson learned, stay away from Doctors if you can and learn and use herbal remedies. YOU can start today by learning how to make a Glycerite.

Herbal extracts or tinctures are arguably the simplest. The most potent and inexpensive way to deliver. The healing benefits of natural plants (herbs) to our bodies.

These tinctures although mostly prepared with consumable alcohol can also be made with honey, vinegar, water or vegetable glycerin.

This informative guide is going to overlook all the other tinctures and instead focus entirely on showing you how to make a glycerite.

What is a Glycerite?

A Glycerite (glycerin-based tincture) is any liquid herbal preparation. That makes use of vegetable glycerin as the main (if not only) solvent. Vegetable glycerin, which is often referred to as glycerol. A colorless, clear and odorless liquid that is prepared primarily from various types of vegetable oils.

These include coconut, soy and palm oil just to name a few. It is important that you only use organic, non-GMO glycerin if you wish to produce the best glycerin-based herbal tincture.

Alcohol and water are considered to be stronger solvents than glycerin. Due to this, glycerin is not recommended for use on hard plant parts like barks and roots.

Hence; is mostly beneficial for delicate plant parts including leaves and flowers. Glycerite is often used as an ideal alternative for animals, children and even adults with alcohol and palatability considerations. This is because glycerite doesn’t contain alcohol and is very sweet.

Glycerites are generally absorbed slowly by the body, unlike alcohol-based extracts. This is because alcohol, which is the main solvent in all types of alcohol-based extracts, can be easily absorbed by the liver.

Glycerin tinctures, on the other hand, are absorbed by the liver’s “glucogenic” pathway which is about 30% slower in terms of absorption. Just as mentioned earlier before, glycerin-based herbal tinctures are sweet tasting in nature.

This alone makes them an ideal way to administer very powerful yet unpalatable medicine, especially to children.

Herbal tinctures made from glycerin have an average shelf life of about one to two years when stored in a cool, dark place. This shelf life is quite short when compared to that of alcohol-based extracts. Although they may not be as potent or even long lasting as alcohol-based tinctures. Glycerites are definitely faster and way easier to make.

Recommended Dosage

All herbal tinctures are generally highly concentrated. Hence; are best used both internally and externally in significantly lower quantities. It is relatively difficult to determine the most appropriate glycerite dosage.

This is because glycerites can be made using various types of herbs that evidently contain different concentration levels.

However, according to reliable scientific findings, taking a quarter or a half a teaspoon three times daily is likely to do the trick. Taking the herbal tincture with water (for dilution purposes) is also highly recommended.

Way’s to Make a Glycerite

Below is a basic procedure that shows you how to make a potent glycerite. Kindly note that this is not a standard recipe. Hence; you can easily adjust the measurements provided to best suit your needs and preferences.

These are the basic requirements:

• Non-GMO vegetable glycerin.
• An essential oil of your choice, preferably fennel, lemon, orange or spearmint essential oil.
• Fresh or dried herb(s) of your choice.
• A heatproof resealable jar for storage.
• Slow cooker or crock-pot.
• A strainer lined with cheesecloth.
• Preparation Procedures

The Simple Strategy to Make a Glycerite

This strategy is very easy to follow and does not require the need for any heat source. The only disadvantage with this strategy is that it takes a little more time than the second strategy provided in this article.

Step 1: Fill the clean, resealable storage jar with the fresh chopped herb of your choice.

You can also fill it, halfway if you are using an herb that has been grounded to powder form.

Step 2: Pour boiling water to the herbal remedy to dampen it (optional).

Step 3: Add vegetable glycerin to the mixture while stirring it with a clean spoon to help soak the potent solvent in. Thus also release any air bubbles that may be trapped in it.

Kindly ensure that the added vegetable glycerin takes over 70% of the total mixture. A glycerin to distilled water ratio of 3:1 is also recommended when using dried herbs.

Step 4: Add a few drops of the essential oil (optional) of your choice, stir continuously and then cover the jar with an airtight lid.

Step 5: Leave the mixture for about 4 to 6 weeks (ensure that you shake it occasionally throughout the period).

Step 6: Using a strainer covered with a few layers of cheesecloth. Decant the glycerite into a bowl or jar. Then gently squeeze the residue to harvest every last glycerite drop.

Step 7: Bottle and appropriately label the bowl or jar.

You can now proceed to store the herbal tincture in a cool, dark place preferably in the refrigerator.

The Heat Strategy to Make a Glycerite (optional)

You should use this strategy if you wish to prepare your glycerite in the least time possible.

Step 1: Perform the first four steps provided in the earlier tutorial section. (the one on the simple strategy) But now, ensure that you cover the jar you are using tightly with a lid and metal band to prevent any potential leakage during the cooking process.

Step 2: Place a towel/silicon baking mat/washcloth at the bottom of the crock pot you are using to prevent the resealable jar from breaking.

Step 3: Put the jar (the one with glycerin, the essential oil, the natural herb, and water) on top of the washcloth.

Step 4: Add water to the crock-pot until it reaches the same height as the jar’s shoulders.

Step 5: Set your crock-pot or slow cooker to the “keep warm” or lowest heat setting, leave it for 72 hours (3 days) and then switch it off.

Step 6: Remove the glycerite-containing jar from the crock-pot, put the strainer lined with cheesecloth into a big jar or bowl. Then decant the glycerite herbal tincture.

Step 7: Cover the jar tightly, label it and the store it in a cool, dark place preferably in the refrigerator.

Sleep Glycerite Tincture Recipe

Below is a example recipe to further understand the methord:

Table spoon of each herb

• 2 dried Yarrow flowers – relaxing
• 2 dried Catnip – calming
• 2 Chamomile flowers – calming and chaming
• 1 dried Mint leaves
• 1 dried Hops flowers
• 1 dried stevia leaf

Sleep Glycerite Tincture Instruction’s

Step 1: Fill half way, resealable storage jar with the your herbs.

Step 2: Pour boiling water on the herbs to dampen it.

Step 3: Add food grad vegetable glycerin to the mixture while stirring it to help soak the solvent.

Step 5: Leave the mixture for about 4 to 6 weeks and shake it occasionally throughout this period.

Step 6: Strain the herbs into tincture bottles.

Step 7: Then bottle and label the jar.

Congratulations! You have now successfully made your first potent herbal glycerite.

Watch the video below from Laura Carpenter Medical Herbalist for the practical steps involved:

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CONCLUSION

You can now use these potent glycerin-based herbal tinctures to fight and keep off various common diseases for up to one and a half years. I hope you found this article informative, if you would like to know more then see our:
Guide To Herbal Infusions Tisanes and Teas