How to Make a Tincture Extract

If you have a ready supply of either dried or fresh herbs--in powdered or cut forms--you can make your own herbal tinctures. An herbal tincture is essentially a liquid extract of the herb; you just steep the herb in a liquid, agitating it frequently, until the liquid has absorbed many of the properties of the herb. Some recommend "putting up" a tincture on the night of the new moon, and then bottling it for use on the full moon.

Things You'll Need

• Dried or fresh herb
• 80 to 100 percent proof vodka, rum or vinegar
• 2 wide-mouth mason jars
• Unbleached cheesecloth
• Sturdy rubber band

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Instructions

• 1

  Fill the jar about 1/2 full with the dried or fresh herb. If the herb is fresh and whole, cut it into small pieces before putting it in the jar.

• 2

  Pour enough alcohol into the jar to cover the herbs completely, and then add another 2 inches of liquid. You can also use vinegar to make the tincture, instead of alcohol, if you want.

• 3

  Seal the jar tightly, and place it in a dark place, such as the upper shelf of a little-used closet. If there's no such dark place in your home, put it inside a paper bag. Once a day, take the jar out and upend it several times, and then replace it in the dark place or paper bag. Do this for at least two weeks, the minimum time recommended to let a tincture sit and steep.

• 4

  Remove the tincture from the dark area or paper bag after two weeks. Place the cheesecloth loosely over the mouth of the second mason jar, and place the rubber band around the outside of the jar's mouth to hold the cheesecloth in place.

• 5

  Pour the tincture from the first jar into the cheesecloth-covered jar. The cheesecloth catches the solid material, letting the tincture pass through into the other jar. Once you've poured all the liquid out of the first jar, remove the rubber band from the cheesecloth on the second jar, gather the ends of the cheesecloth together, and squeeze to get any last bits of liquid out of the solid matter.