All parts of the echinacea plant are medicinal and are a great immune booster. Most often, echinacea is used as a cold preventative, but it also reduces inflammation and can help to control sugar levels in your blood. An echinacea tincture is the most common way people prepare echinacea, but it is also found as an echinacea tea.
The echinacea plant is also beautiful with bright, vibrant colors; a welcoming sight in any garden. Plus, echinacea has the added bonus of medicinal healing properties that make it a great winter cold remedy.
In this post, I will share all I know about echinacea, including:
- Anatomy of an echinacea plant
- What is a tincture?
- How to make an echinacea tincture
- Other ways to use echinacea medicinally
So, if you are curious about all things echinacea, or looking to expand your apothecary cabinet for the winter cold and flu season, check out the below and let’s make an echinacea tincture together!
Diving In
Anatomy of an Echinacea Plant
Both the flower and the roots of an echinacea plant have medicinal qualities.
Echinacea flowers should be harvested before your first frost. Let the flowers air dry for a few days and then store in an air-tight container. These dried echinacea plant parts can be used in high-proof alcohol to make an immune boosting tincture.
Echinacea roots hold the most powerful medicine from the plant and can be harvested from a 2-3 year old plant. You can take pieces from the root ball or remove the whole plant to harvest the roots.
Once you have your roots harvested you’ll want to shake the dirt off the roots and rinse them in cold water. Pat dry. Ccut or chop the roots into pieces. Kitchen scissors work great!
To dry your Echinacea roots, take the cut pieces and lay them out on a screen in a well-ventilated area, out of direct sunlight. Let them sit for at least two weeks. Once they are dry, place them in an airtight container, out of direct sunlight
Do you currently have echinacea in your garden? If you don’t it is never too late to add this incredibly healing plant to your collection.
things to help along the way
GROW your own ECHINACEA
This seed pack comes as a sampler size for $1.99 or large for only $4.99.
Coneflower Scatter Garden Seed Mix including both echinacea purpurea and echinacea palladia.
But for the sake of creating a tincture right now, I also love Starwest Botanical products. They source everything from the source of its origin and have a HUGE organic selection. They have echinacea purpurea in herb form here:
echinacea tinctures
What is a Tincture
A tincture in the simplest form is a herb or combination of herbs, steeped in high-proof alcohol for 4 to 6 weeks. During this steeping process, the medicinal properties of the herb or herbs are infused into the alcohol. After straining out the herb particles, you are left with an easy-to-use herbal remedy.
Using a solvent like alcohol, vinegar, or glycerin, you can extract more properties of a plant and preserve the medicinal qualities for a longer time than an infusion method.
Tinctures that are made with high-proof alcohol also have a very long shelf life and allow for easy absorption into the bloodstream! I have read that alcohol-based herbal tinctures should be used within 2 years, but some that have a high percentage of alcohol can have a shelf life of 3-5 years.
The folk method of making tinctures uses no measurements, just your judgement on ratios. You can keep track of your ratios and strengths if you want to be consistent with your results when making tinctures over and over.
How to
make an echinacea tincture
Making tinctures does not require too many supplies.
- Wide-mouth canning jars and tight fitting lids
- Dry echinacea (or other herbs if making a different kind of tincture)
- Vodka with a high proof (60 proof for dry herbs, 80 for fresh herbs)
- Cheesecloth
- Funnel
- Tincture Bottles. I love these one ounce bottles on Amazon.
If you don’t currently have echinacea in your garden, you should consider buying this coneflower scatter garden seed mix so that you are prepared next winter!
things to help along the way
GROW your own ECHINACEA
This seed pack comes as a sampler size for $1.99 or large for only $4.99.
Coneflower Scatter Garden Seed Mix including both echinacea purpurea and echinacea palladia.
But for the sake of creating a tincture right now, I also love Starwest Botanical products. They source everything from the source of its origin and have a HUGE organic selection. They have echinacea purpurea in herb form here:
kitchen recipes
Instructions on How to Make an Echinacea Tincture
INGREDIENTS
- Wide-mouth canning jars and tight fitting lids
- Dry echinacea (or other herbs if making a different kind of tincture)
- Vodka with a high proof (60 proof for dry herbs, 80 for fresh herbs)
- Cheesecloth
- Funnel
- Tincture Bottles. I love these one ounce bottles on Amazon.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Chop herbs to increase the surface area and place into a clear, dry wide-mouth mason jar.
- Pour high proof alcohol over the herbs until the alcohol level is an inch above the top of the herbs. Dry herbs may absorb the alcohol, so be sure to check back later once it has had a minute to settle to make sure the alcohol is covering the echinacea.
- Cover tightly with a lid and place in a dark corner of your kitchen for 4-6 weeks.
- Shake the jar every 2-3 days or whenever you remember! Keep an eye on the alcohol levels to make sure they are covering the herbs at all times.
- Once it has been 4-6 weeks, pour the mixture through cheesecloth a few times to remove all herb remnants.
- Allow to settle overnight and then strain again through a finer filter paper.
NOTES
Transfer to amber bottles to store out of the light.
things to help along the way
SPECIALTY PRODUCTS for making an echinacea tincture
other ways to use
echinacea medicinally
- Herbal tea
- Decoction tea (tea made from roots)
- Throat spray (made from tincture)
When I learned about the benefits of echinacea and realized how easy it is to grow, adding this plant to my seed collection was a no brainer.
*Disclaimer: This information in this post is not intended or should not be used in place of a medical professional’s advice. All information is my own opinion. Always research each herb you choose for personal safety concerns before using them. Please consult with a medical professional or do your own extensive research if you are worried or concerned about any of the ingredients or opinions expressed.
Let’s connect! Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you make this recipe, I’d love to see! Tag your instagram versions with @homestead.onthehill and #homesteadonthehill.