For many herbalists, their favourite way to make a herb infused oil is by using a low heat. The sane can be said of glycerites.
A low heat can help draw out constituents from some herbs and can deepen the quality of the resulting remedy. I find this method the most satisfying, myself.
If you’re in a hurry, certainly go ahead and use the Intermediate Alcohol method that we have a page about. You can whip up a servicible oil overnight that way.
Similar to the solar method (we’ve a page in that too) we use a low level of heat to help the infusion process. We aren’t bringing the oil to anywhere near boiling, just to about 35°C , which is low enough not to worry about cooking the herb, nor burning yourself. Some folks say that you can go to 45°C or even 60° but I’ve found that 30-40 is fine.
Double boiler
Double boilers are a great way to heat your oil in a gentle manner. They come in two sections and serve to keep the direct heat away from your precious oil.
The bottom section contains water, which is warmed by your cooktop or stove. The top section is where you put your oil and herbs or beeswax. This part receives the heat from the water in the part below at a lower temperature than it would if it was in a pot that is in direct contact with the heat. This all means that your oil is heated more gently than in a normal pot
You can buy a purpose made double boiler (I found this one in an op shop) or simply use two well fitting pots, one atop the other.
Slow cooker
This is my favourite method. You can just set it, walk away and return from time to time to admire the progress.
There are two methods for using a slow cooker but both rely on keeping the switch set to low, or ‘keep warm’. Never set it to ‘high’.
The first method is to simply put your herb and oil into the slow cooker and away you go. Some slow cookers get pretty hot during their heating cycle – they try to raise the temperature as quickly as possible. This may, briefly, raise the temperature if your oil too high.
The second method is to use the slow cooker as a water bath. You can even use a Bain Marie for this if you have one that is suitable.
The advantage of using a water bath is that the heating is gentler and more evenly distributed
For the water bath method, you put your herbs and oil into a jar with a tight fitting lid and place the jars into the slow cooker. Then you add water to the cooker until the level is half way to three quarters the way up the jar. Then you turn on the slow cooker and come back from time to time to check the progress.
The water bath technique is especially suited to making infused oils with aromatic plants such as the Mints, Scullcap or Rosemary. Because the herbs and oil are in sealed jars, you don’t lose any of those beautiful volatile oils.
Magical Butter Machine
A Magical Butter Machine is a relatively expensive gadget that is purpose designed to make oils and related products from Cannabis. You don’t need to use it for only that herb, though, any herb can be used in one. It is best for using when making remedies from resinous plants that need a higher temperature to extract.
The advantages of a MBM are that it is a sealed unit, it has temperature and time controls and has a powerful blending blade and motor.
I use mine now and then for oils but prefer more hands on methods. If I’m using mine, I always select the no temperature’ setting because the other temperature settings are designed for extracting resins. Also, even though there is a setting of 54 C, the heater in the base comes on so strongly that you can hear bubbling from the unit if you listen closely. That means that the oil that is in contact with the base is boiling. Even though that is a small amount, I think that it still degrades the oil somewhat if you are making small batches.
When I use a MBM, I set it to ‘no temperature’ and the 2 hour setting. That finely blends and mixes the herb and oil. I do that for two days and it produces a beautiful blend that can be used immediately but I like to give mine a little extra time to infuse in a different container. Also, herbs such as St. John’s Wort or Calendula love at least an afternoon in the full Sun.
MBMs also come with a fine filter bag and a heat-resistant glove that allows you to handle your oil while it is hot if you’ve used the heaters. Oil always filters faster when it is warm.
Keep a thermometer handy
Slow cookers generally don’t have very accurate thermostats, so checking the temperature of their contents is crucial when making remedies.Here, a thermometer is a vital tool.
Whether digital or mercury, keep your thermometer handy at all times to check the water or oil in your cooker.
There are a couple of ways to keep the temperature in the right range.
- If your temperature is a little low, you can cover the cooker with a tea towel or similar.
- If your temperature gets too high, you can either remove the lid entirely or partially so that the excess heat can escape.
The method I like to use, that I pinched from Nicole Rose’s glycerites course is to put the cooker on a timer so that it can heat, then be allowed to cool. I find this the most effective method and set the timer to 1 hour on, 1 hour off in the cooler weather, or 1 on / 2 off, if the temperature in the shed is high.
Most of us use cheap cookers but some are available with accurate thermostats or built in timers. If you are or have a friend who is good with electrical work, you can add a dimmer switch to your cooker’s power cable so that you can adjust the temperature with that. Alternatively, there are dimmers that plug into electrical sockets and you can plug your cooker into them. I prefer to use the timer method because there’s nothing to solder or worry about, plus timers are cheap.
Avoid overheating your oil
Heating oils to above 100 degrees C wipes out nutrients and produces free radicals, which can cause cell damage and are contributors to ageing and many other health affecting issues.
Tip: filter your oil while it’s warm.
One of the messiest and most time-consuming parts of the process of making herb infused oils is filtering. Oil filters much faster when it is warm. It doesn’t have to be hot, but warm or mildly hot is best, so warm your oil a little before filtering.
Other herb pages on Ligaya Garden
We cover a lot of ground on many herb related topics here on our website. There are whole pages devoted to different topics as well as frequent posts. Some of the links are –
