Hi David, I made astragalus tincture the other day using the cooking method we discussed in class; however, I still need some clarification on water to herb ratio when cooking. At first I started out using a ratio of 1:5 (herb:water), but over half of the water evaporated within a couple of hours and I hardly had anything left (it was a small batch of astragalus). So, with that said, should I use a ratio of something like 1:15 or 1:20 if I am planning on cooking it for 8 plus hours? Or is is safe to do a small batch for a shorter period of time? Am I wanting my end result to be at a 1:5 ratio - for instance, if I have an ounce of herb, I can start with an arbitrary amount of water just as long as it gets cooked down to 5 oz by the end of it, regardless of the time it takes to do so? I am just trying to figure out a way to be consistent with my end result in terms of medicinal value. I hope you had a great time visiting with your family. Thanks, Adrienne

Kerry will be teaching you herbal pharmacy and go into greater detail on the specifics of tincturing. Still in answer to your question, we have actually discussed this several times in class, but it is confusing and perhaps I was not as clear as I could be. You need to add additional water (it is not 1:5 herb to water, it is 1:5 herb to menstruum including the alcohol you will eventually add), you figure out the water amount add it to the ground astragalus, combine them and weigh it. Then add additional water ,probably double it (if the water is evaporating in a few hours your cooking temperature is much too high), be sure the cooking container is covered also. When it is reduced to the level it had before you added more water weight, it should have the same weight as previous weight). Let cool and add your ETOH. Does that make sense ?

Yes, I understand now. Thank you for clarifying.