I have been practicing herbal medicine for many years. In the three shops I have had, and in the three books I have written on the topic, I have created and come up with new ways to make herbal remedies.

I love the standard method of soaking herbs in alcohol. Vinegar the same way, or adding honey, making teas, or glycerites are all wonderful ways of making medicine. What if you need something now but you need it to be shelf stable? What if you don’t have room for 100+ jars (yes, that is how many my daughter and I have on hand in each of our houses!) or forget to make something, or don’t have enough herbs to make full jars? I, myself, would like to have more space in my she-shed, so I have come up with this technique (I’m sure it’s not that new) to create medicine in minutes.

Last week, I made a batch of kidney remedy for a client and this morning I will need to make one for another. Herbalism is all very intuitive, but I have given you approximate measurements and then you can tweak as needed!

In a small pot, I combined 4 parts (I did 4 Tablespoons) frozen cranberries to two parts (I did 2 Tablespoons) each, cornsilk, juniper berries, urva ursi, and cat’s claw. I put roughly four times the water and set it to simmer, adding water as needed to make a strong tea. I decocted (boiled) this for about 30 minutes. Let cool then strain into jar. Then top with alcohol you have on hand. Doug wasn’t drinking his rum, so rather than use my delicious bourbon, I cut the decoction 50/50 with rum. (Sorry, babe.)

This will be shelf stable for at least six months. The dosage is the same as a tincture (about 1 teaspoon/2 droppers per day for tonic, or 2 droppers 4x a day for infection.) You can use any combination of herbs that you typically use with this technique. Try simple echinacea leaves and flowers for immunity, or a mint, chamomile, lemon balm, and ginger for a digestive relief.

Herbalism is fun and is how we care for nearly any malady. You can find my books on Amazon, The Herbalist Will See You Now, The Medicine Person’s Guide to Herbalism, and The Homesteader’s Pharmacy, written by Katie Lynn Sanders.