[Herbalist] proportions and parts

[Jenne Heise]

>  I am confused about how to figure out how much of each herb to use when
>they say 'parts'. I realize that 'part' means anything that you want it
>to, but the original formula reads,'take a quart jar and fill it 1/4 full
>with dried cayenne peppers, add enough vodka to just cover. Use enough
>fresh peppers that you can blend with vodka to make mixture into an
>applesauce like consistency. Add this mixture to the 1st mixture, filling
>up the jar 3/4 full. Fill up the rest of the jar with more alcohol.'

Oh goodness! No wonder you're having trouble with this!
The original recipe calls for a total of 1 cup volume of mixed dried
pepper and vodka, plus 2 cups of mixed fresh peppers and vodka, but you
can't tell from this either the original volume of the vodka to be added
to the dried peppers (not surprisingly, as it would vary based on the
qualities of the dried peppers-- same with the fresh mixture. When you've
got a total of 3 cups of liquid, you add another cup of vodka.

>   The formula that I want to make has eight herbs in it, and the
>instructions tell me to make it using the cayenne pepper tincture method.
>I cannot figure this out.
>I have already made a couple tinctures up,
>trying to follow this method, and they did not make sense. If the ratio
>is 1:4, and you're using a quart jar with 32 oz., if the herbs fill up
>1/4 of the jar, is the remaining 3/4 of the jar three parts, or four?
>What percentage would each of the eight herbs be if they are the same as
>the cayenne?

The trouble is that herbalists (like me, unfortunately) who use the parts
method aren't thinking mathematically. They're describing what it is they
do when they make the stuff, rather than working out the exact quantities.

It sounds to me like you are supposed to make up 2 different mixtures, one
of dried herbs and one of fresh, with the total volume of the fresh one
being 2 cups, and the total volume of the dried one being 1 cup, plus
enough vodka to cover it.

>  I don't know whether you need to be an herbalist to make these
>tinctures, or a mathematician.

Not a mathematician, I think.

>  Why can't the formulas just give you the amounts in ounces, and if you
>want to make more or less, you can adjust the proportion by multiplying
>or subtracting.?

Because the person writing it would have to work out the weight or volume
requirements for the recipe, and a lot of us are simply too lazy to do
such a painstaking thing, especially when we've found that the results
vary.

>  Could you please tell me how to learn this most fundamental part of
>tincturing, because they all seem to be written this way.

They _aren't_ all written that way, it's just that you are encountering a
bunch of ones that are. Are you using a particular book or books? I've had
good results with books from Storey Communications.

One of the important things to remember is that if you are being given a
recipe for a tincture with such ad-hoc instructions, it's often not as
important that you get the proportions exactly right.

If you feel uncomfortable working with these sorts of measurements, it's
best to either find some sources that give you definite measurements, or
experiment with things-- such as liqueurs-- where you will be less worried
about the proportions being Just So. As you practice and make up tinctures
yourself, observe what you are doing and how much of each you are putting
in. As you get more practice, you will begin to have a 'feel' for the
proportions and I suspect such lazy directions won't be as problematic for
you.

Late-period herbal recipes, thank goodness, don't have this trouble-- most
of them give directions in weights. However, that means you have to invest
in a scale -- which I haven't-- to do them properly.

--
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      jenne at mail.browser.net
"I am in a corner without being backed there and often come out
fighting." -- James Thurber, 1960 interview with Life