Basic terms of herbal medicine making

First, some terms. Herbalism is a language in and of itself, one that defers to the dynamics of the plant world and employs some words that may seem archaic but I believe continue on in appreciation and respect for the rich history of herbalism.

The following are some of the terms I will be using here and there to describe the process of medicine making.

Terms

decanting - Pouring off an extract from one container to another without disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the container

maceration - The process of steeping plant material in your solvent for a period of time. Maceration allows the solvent to become saturated with constituents from the plant material.

marc - The actual plant material used in your preparation, typically measured by weight, not volume. I tend to use the word ‘plant material’ more frequently than ‘marc’.

menstruum - An old alchemical term for a substance that dissolves a solid or holds it in suspension, the modern scientific term is ‘solvent’ which I use more frequently than menstruum.

precipitation - Occurs when solid particles fall out of solution in a tincture or extract.

solubility - The ability of the solvent (menstruum) to extract various constituents from a plant into a liquid form.

tincture - Tinctures are herbal preparations that use alcohol as a solvent. Tinctures are the primary extracts we will be making in the bitters club to blend together to create a variety of bitters blends.