Herbs and medicinal plants can be used in many ways for treatment or to enhance the taste of food in cooking.
Here are the main methods and some ways of preparing them
Tea or infusion
Herbs are placed in a suitable container (kettle, cup, it is best if the container is not metal) and poured with freshly boiled water. If the herbs are fresh, they should stay in the water for no more than a minute, and the finished tea should be light yellow or light green. If the herbs are dried, the infusion should be at least 2-3 minutes. There are recipes that require a much longer infusion 10-15-30 minutes, even longer, carefully follow the recommendations described in each specific recipe.
If the tea or infusion is from roots, they should boil with water and then stand for a few more minutes after the water is removed from the stove.
Cold extract
Note that there are herbs whose medicinal properties are lost during heat treatment. Cold soaking is used for such plants - usually for 8-10-12 hours - it is recommended to do this at night. Then the mixture is heated to body temperature - 30-40 degrees.
With these herbs, the combined method is considered to be extremely good, in which, after staying overnight, the herbs are soaked in half of the necessary water are strained. A warm infusion is made from the same herbs with the remaining amount of water, which is mixed with the cold extract.
Juice
Fresh herb juices are suitable for supplementing as drops or applying to the body. The preparation is carried out in a powerful mixer (the so-called Slow Juicer is most suitable). These juices are best made daily and used fresh.
Compresses
A pot of water is brought to a boil, then a sieve or cheesecloth is placed on top, in which the fresh or dried herbs are placed, then it is closed with a lid. After a certain time, the finished softened herbs are taken out, placed on a clean, thin linen or cotton cloth. The herbs placed in this way are applied to the sore spot, after which a towel is placed over them, depending on the application, household foil can be added to hold the compress and steam it. In no case should you feel cold, these compresses are very effective if left overnight.
Tinctures
Tinctures are alcohol extracts. 40 degree spirits are usually used - brandy, cognac, vodka. The preparation is as follows - in a suitable glass container - a bottle, a jar, put the fresh herbs without crushing them. The vessel is then topped up with the appropriate alcohol. The container is tightly closed and left for at least 2 weeks in a warm place, shaking occasionally. After the appropriate time has passed, the liquid is strained, the herbs are squeezed well. Tinctures are used internally - in drops or externally for rubs or compresses.
Extraction of oils
The extraction of herbal and vegetable oils is done in a similar way to tinctures, but no alcohol is used, but olive oil or other natural, necessarily cold-pressed and unrefined oil.
The herbs are placed in a bottle or jar without crowding them, the container is topped up with olive oil. The bottle or jar should be left for 14 days in the sun. The oil is then strained and used according to the recipe for the respective herb.
Author: Nikola Belopitov