How to Make Herbal Oils
A favorite kitchen tool?
There are favorite tools, most used tools, and incidental tools … oh yeah, and the tools that people offer with a good heart because they know that I work with plants…Those are sentimental tools.
In the kitchen, my favorite tool purchased specifically to work with herbs is my Euro Cuisine, Yogurt Maker. It is a plastic unit, although BPA-free, and holds seven glass 6-ounce containers.
I purchased mine about 15 years ago. It’s run for countless hours 24/7 and is a reliable, trusted tool. I’ve never used it to make yogurt. I regularly use it to make infused oils.
As you can see, it’s round and has a domed lid. Prior to purchasing this, I made my oils on the stovetop, over low heat, in the oven also on low heat, or I simply set them outside in the sunshine. Each of these methods, for varying reasons, resulted in short shelf life. My oils might last a season before going rancid. Unfortunately, this was disappointing, inefficient, and, yes, costly. But the yogurt maker changed my game up entirely. To be clear, I have no competing interests that would confound my talking about this amazing tool.
Making Herbal Oils - The Process
The process is simple. All I need is a marc, a menstruum, and electricity. My marc varies. Here you can see that I’m infusing red clover flowering tops (Trifolium pratense). I’m using EVOO or extra virgin olive oil. I like using EVOs from either Greece or Italy because I appreciate the taste, color, and aromas that these oils offer.
It’s then very simple. I remove the domed lid of the yogurt maker and all of the caps for each jar. Over the course of years, I’ve broken two of the jars. Luckily, baby food jars fit nicely and I use these as replacements. I can infuse a single jar or all seven jars (~42oz in total). There’s no need to fill each one.
I start by adding plant material and as you can see, I generally add as much as I can to each jar. Then I add my menstruum and ensure that there are no air pockets in each jar. I then replace the domed lid, leaving the jars open. This is extremely important and why I think this machine is such an excellent tool.
The constant temperature (about 110F/43C) is a game changer. Oils infused outside, even in direct sunlight are subject to changes in temperature. Additionally, the domed lid allows for water vapor to rise, condense on the lid and then slide down its side. It does not condense and drop into the oil. Nor is the lid 100% airtight, which means that over all these years I have observed that there is a slow evaporation of moisture each time I infuse herbs.
Once the lid is in place, I plug it in. Euro Cuisine yogurt makers can be purchased online from a number of locations for about $30. They run for less than a penny a day. I see that now, for an extra fee, it can be purchased with a timer. As I can tell time, I don’t think that this is an advantage for me, especially as I might infuse oils for anything from a few days to several months. Yes, that’s right, I’ve run my Euro Cuisine for up to three months, nonstop. Most of the time, I infuse oils for 7-14 days. The yogurt maker doesn’t get hot; the red light reminds me that it’s plugged in, and I am completely comfortable leaving it run for days on end, whether I’m at home or out of town.
Once I think that an oil is sufficiently infused, I remove the jar, strain and retain the menstruum and then label and bottle the resulting oil.
Now, here’s a twist. Labeling is key. The first time I used this machine, I used painter’s tape, placing a label above each bottle on the lid. I didn’t think it through, and it’s very easy to take the lid off and replace it in a different orientation! Lesson learned. Now, I simply make a rough sketch, orientating my sketch by the on-off button if I am infusing different herbs. If all jars contain the same herb, I usually stick a piece of painter’s tape on the countertop with a start date and the name of the herb.
It's that simple and that successful. I no longer have oils that mold or become rancid. Give it a try, and start to enjoy the topical benefits of infused oils.
Pictured below, I was infusing red clover to be used topically in cancer care. Trifolium pratense contains a substance called genistein which has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer. As a mild lymphatic, it’s also useful when applied externally on and around any lymph congestion or swelling. Red clover is an excellent alterative and the Euro Cuisine yogurt maker is an excellent tool for any herbalist making their own infused oils on a small scale.
