How to Make a Ginger Tincture and Why It’s Important
Ginger is a powerful remedy that has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It can target a wide-range of ailments that include something as simple as the common cold to protecting the gastrointestinal tract. Ginger can be consumed raw, in powdered form or in tea. It can also be prepared as a tincture to provide a concentrated dose of medicine when needed the most. Follow the steps below to see how easy it is to make your own from scratch today.
Getting Started
The trick to making a powerful tincture is to use the best ingredients and to be patient. It takes time for the compounds of the ginger to be drawn out and concentrated. The process can take anywhere from two weeks to a month depending on who you ask, and unfortunately, there are not a lot of good shortcuts to make it go faster.
The only two ingredients that you will need for this recipe are vodka or brandy and quality ginger. When choosing your alcohol, look for a product that has the highest proof possible. Alcohol plays a vital role in the chemical process that takes the nutrients inside the ginger and places it in the liquid. Higher alcohol content also has less water, which makes it more efficient as well. Finally, make sure to choose alcohol that is in pure form instead of a product that has additives or flavors.
Preparing the Ginger
You can use any type of ginger that you want as long as it is fresh. Remember that the nutritional content of almost any food degrades over time, and this includes ginger, whether it is in the form of a powder or the whole root. You also want to avoid using pre-diced ginger or dehydrated products whenever possible. Peel the skin off of your ginger and dice up the root into pieces that are no bigger than ¼ inch each. The finer you can mince the ginger, the easier the alcohol can penetrate the material and draw out the nutrients. Consequently, dicing it into smaller pieces can give you with a more powerful concentration of medicine in less time.
Place the ginger in a mason jar or container until it is about ¾ the way filled up. Pour over the vodka or brandy until it reaches the top and attach the lid. Give it a good shake and store in a dark and cool place until the “fermentation” process is complete. Make sure to try and shake the jar at least once or twice a day to agitate the ingredients.
If you are using a ginger powder, fill the container about ¼ of the way up before filling the rest with your alcohol. Cap it off and give it a good shake, and follow the guidelines listed above to process the medicine.
Processing the Tincture
You should be able to start using the tincture within around 2 weeks of preparation. However, if you are looking for a more potent remedy, consider letting it soak for at least a month. Experiment with different time-frames as well as proportions until you find the best combination for your needs. Once the necessary time has passed, open up the container and pour it through a strainer. You can either leave a few smaller particles of ginger in the bottle to let it slowly increase in potency over time, or you can keep straining with finer and finer material until all that remains is a pure liquid.
Pure liquid products tend to last longer in storage, up to at least two years. You can expect medicines with some ginger remaining in them to last anywhere from one to two years, longer in many cases.
Once the liquid has been strained, you can place it directly into medicine droppers and label and date them. Remember to use sterilized containers, bowls and medicine droppers at every stage of the process to minimize contamination.
Do some research on the amazing health benefits of ginger, and you will discover why having a ginger tincture in your medicine cabinet or survival kit is such a good idea.
