[Herbalist] infusing oils

[foxryde]

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<grin>  That's a first, good Cousin!!!  It's nice to have our big Season
over so I have some time to think and comment on this wonderful list.

I find that since I actually make a living making herbal things, my
preparation methods frequently come of differ from the published
versions.  I love Penelope Ody's books, but man, her methods stink,
IMHO.  <grin>

Beeswax is a large complex molecule that tangles easily and is solid
(obviously) at ambient.  It is not a good medium for infusions because of
this.  The infusing medium needs to be small enough and mobile enough to
penetrate the dried botanicals, lift out (dissolve) the medicinal
components, and then cycle out with them.  This is why you don't want to
heat the infused oil too much - some of the medicinal components are
fugitive to heat/light.

This is why I like to melt the beeswax separately, temper it with a small
amount of plain oil, then add it to the warmed infused oils.

There is a lot to think about with these things, it is great to be able to
geek about my chosen field a bit.

Hope everyone had a Wonderful Holiday!!  We are going to take some time off
and see some movies and relax before the New Year when we have to get right
back to it!

All the best,
Leonora

At 12:26 PM 12/25/02 -0500, you wrote:


>On Wednesday, December 25, 2002, at 12:18 PM, foxryde wrote:
>
>>Personally, I'd infuse (cook) the herbs first without the beeswax.
>>Then
>>strain (and cheese cloth works fine with this - just use it to line a
>>metal
>>mesh style strainer) - you can even squeeze the ball after it has
>>cooled a
>>bit.
>
>Well you beat me to it! I was just about to comment on this again.
>There's a recipe that was submitted to the TI that indicated this was
>the way you should approach a balm as well and I disagreed with that
>method as well for the same reasons you mentioned. Infusing oil is much
>more effective than infusing beeswax, from what I understand of the
>chemistry. Beeswax shouldn't be considered a vehicle for the essential
>oils but a thickener for them, in my opinion.
>
>Has *anyone* on the list had much success with the beeswax infusion
>method? I've not ever in the years I've been making ointments, so I'm
>curious to know what other people have found useful about the method.
>
>
>Iasmin
>
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