Herbal Vinegars
What they are, how to make them, and what to consider along the way!
Herbal vinegars are an excellent way to incorporate nutrient-rich herbs into your diet. They can be added to salads as a dressing or can be made into dips for fish and spring rolls! Check out this post to learn the herbs that lend best to a vinegar preparation and how you can make one of your own at home!
What is an herbal vinegar?
Herbal vinegars, sometimes called vinegar extracts, are medicinal preparations involving herbs and vinegar. We usually prepare herbal vinegars when we need to retain the nutritive value of the herbs we are working with. Understanding why means taking a look at what a vinegar is.
What is vinegar anyway?
Vinegars are sour liquids that have acetic acid content. The acetic acid in vinegar is what gives vinegar its classic sour taste and pungent smell. Acetic acid is created as a product of the two-step fermentation process used to make what we call vinegars.
In the first part of this process, water, fruit, and the sugars in that fruit are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast. This step alone can be used to make natural sodas. Then, in the second fermentation process, the alcohol solution is left exposed to air, where acetic acid bacteria strains are naturally present. These bacteria metabolize alcohol into acetic acid. Often this process involves the bacteria forming a colony on the surface of the solution. The solidification of this colony is visible and is what we know as the "mother of the vinegar". As the acetic acid bacteria continue to metabolize the solution, it becomes more and more acidic, eventually transforming into a diluted form of acetic acid we call vinegar.
Medicinal Benefits of Vinegar
Even before it is used in herbal medicine, vinegars have great value. Unmedicated vinegars diminish thirst, promote the flow of saliva, and alleviate restlessness. When used externally, they can help with things like skin inflammation, sunburn, and fevers because they act as a refrigerant, cooling the skin when topically applied.
When vinegars are used as a menstruum for herbal medicine, they can help amplify their effect. One example is that vinegars when combined with herbs like elecampane can hasten its act expectorant quality meaning it will help bring mucus up and out of the respiratory tract.
How Vinegars Help Retain the Medicinal Qualities of Herbs
Herbal vinegars are excellent at both retrieving the nutritive value of an herb (think herbs like Nettle!) and can be helpful when an herb contains medicinal alkaloids.
What are alkaloids?
Alkaloids are chemical constituents found in many different plants. Plants create alkaloids, and their other chemical constituents, for both mechanisms of defense to ward off predators and disease and mechanisms of attraction, possibly to attract pollinators who can help with their reproduction and animals who will help with their seed dispersal.
Alkaloids have many different actions on the human body. They can be beneficial, like those that have antibacterial, antiviral, or insecticidal properties or they can be harmful. It’s always best to thoroughly research the plant you’re working with to understand its impact on the human body.
Many plants with medicinal alkaloids can be processed in water or alcohol, creating herbal medicines like teas, tinctures, or syrups. Some cannot be or may benefit from being processed in vinegar. Why? Alkaloids, in their pure form, are non-polar. This means that their chemical structure makes them water-repellant and unable to dissolve in water.
When working with plants like this, relying on the acetic acid content in vinegar can help us to create more effective medicine. The acetic acid in vinegar will transform the alkaloid into an alkaloidal salt through a process called protonation. Once transformed, the alkaloidal salt is now far more water-soluble.
Herbs that work well in a vinegar
Goldenseal
Lobelia
Dandelion
Nettle
Oregon Grape Root
Thyme
Please note: Goldenseal is endangered. It is included in this list for educational purposes. If its use is necessary, use great care. Some alternatives to goldenseal are found below:
If desired for immune health, Barberry is an excellent alternative. It contains berberine, the same alkaloid found in goldenseal that supports its immune health affinity.
If desired for topical infections, turn to Calendula or Plantain. Externally, calendula can be used for skin issues where the skin is cracked, dry, bleeding, irritated, or infected. Plantain is helpful for cases of insect bites, wounds, or rashes. Both are found abundantly in the wild. When needed, gather these plants with reverence. I lean on the principles of the Honorable Harvest to guide my gathering of plants in the wild:
The Honorable Harvest
Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Making an Herbal Vinegar
Making an herbal vinegar is very easy to do. This is a fun preparation to involve friends or kids in as it lends well to using your creativity and intuitive flavor-pairing skills!
How to make
Start by selecting your vinegar. When making medicinal vinegar, I like to use raw vinegar, such as Apple Cider Vinegar or Coconut Vinegar with the mother.
Fill a sanitized jar 1/3 way with your dried plant material or 2/3 way if working with fresh plant material. Be mindful to use a jar that has a glass, plastic, or ceramic lid. Metal lids will corrode when in contact with vinegar.
Pour your vinegar over your herbs, leaving a small amount of air at the top.
Shake daily for 4-6 weeks.
After 4-6 weeks, strain into a sterilized glass jar with a glass, plastic, or ceramic lid.
Dosing
Enjoy 1 tablespoon in water 2-3 times per day.
Storage
Store away from direct sunlight and in a dark, cool place. I like to keep mine in the fridge for a little extra protection.
Shelf Life
You can expect a 1-year shelf life.
Troubleshooting
Don’t have a jar with a plastic, glass, or ceramic lid? Use a few layers of wax paper to separate the vinegar from the metal in your lid.
Want to incorporate fruits? I recommend using dried fruits rather than fresh fruits. Fresh fruits have a higher water content which can affect both the potency of your medicine and its shelf life.
Using herbs’ barks or roots? The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook suggests one additional step to enhance the shelf life and aesthetic look of your medicine. Barks and roots contain a substance known as albumin which can dissolve into our vinegar as our medicine macerates. When albumin is retained in the vinegar it can cause the resulting medicine to ferment and spoil more easily. Gently heating the vinegar to a boiling point without boiling it will make the albumin separable from our vinegar menstruum, leaving a higher quality product when we strain it. If using this method, gently heat and strain after the 4-6 week maceration period.
Any downsides to herbal vinegars?
Generally, working with herbal vinegar is quite beneficial. As referenced earlier in this blog post, vinegars themselves already have many helpful properties like being natural antiseptics, topical toners, and containing antioxidants. This being said, there are two considerations we may have before we choose to work with an herbal vinegar:
Herbal vinegars are more susceptible to decomposition than something like an alcohol-based tincture. While an herbal vinegar's shelf life is 1 year, herbal tinctures can last upwards of 2 years and are often considered to have an indefinite shelf life.
The acetic acid content in vinegar is not always consistent. It can range from 5-18% by volume. By FDA guidelines, any vinegar found on the market should have at least 4% acetic acid content. Depending on the herb being used, having a lower acetic acid concentration can impact the shelf life and the potency of the medicine.
References
The Art and Practice of Spiritual Herbalism, Karen M. Rose
The Medicine Makers Handbook, James Green
UPS List of Herbs and Analogs by Jane Bothwell, Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation
Protecting Goldenseal, Mountain Rose Herbs
