Can I use fresh herbs instead of dried herbs when making my nourishing herbal infusion?
No. The herbs I use for my nourishing herbal infusions – such as nettle, oatstraw, red clover, comfrey leaf, linden flowers, chickweed, or mullein leaves – contain little or no volatiles to be lost in drying. Rather, drying liberates their minerals and other nourishing constituents. Can I brew my infusion as “sun tea”? No. It is important to pour boiling water over the dried herb to help liberate the minerals. How can I make nourishing herbal infusion for lots of people? When we make nourishing herbal infusion for 30 at the Wise Woman Center, we begin by boiling 4 gallons of water in our biggest pot. Then we add one pound of herb (16 ounces in one pound, and 16 quarts in 4 gallons), stirring well until the water boils again. We cover the pot well with a tight-fitting lid, turn off the fire, and allow to steep right there overnight. Can I make enough infusion to last for a whole week? No. It is best to make infusion fresh each day. Once made, nourishing herbal infusions spoil rapidly. R
