Guest guest Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Alana <wngsolight@...> wrote: I am wondering if anyione on this list has tinctured sweetflag for perfume and if so what your process was. I am cleaning out the pond in my yard and have rhizomes to spare. I am thinking I will use some fressh and try drying first and reconstituting with everclear. If anyone has tread this path before, I would be grateful for your advice. Thanks, Alana Hi Alana Acorus seems to be either distilled for oil or dried for sachets........ but you could try it both fresh and drying it and see which is best...... let us know your results. the roots are usually recommended to be at least 2-3 years old. hope this helps. Janita Ascent. http://www.hayspace.co.uk --------------------------------- All New – Tired of unwanted email come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 You wrote: >I am wondering if anyione on this list has tinctured sweetflag for >perfume and if so what your process was. I am cleaning out the pond in >my yard and have rhizomes to spare. I am thinking I will use some >fressh and try drying first and reconstituting with everclear. If >anyone has tread this path before, I would be grateful for your advice. I used to grow Sweet Flag/Acorus calamus. Before you can tincture it, you must first process the roots. Clean the roots off very well with a hose when harvesting. Then take a sharp knife and chop the roots into dice/small pieces and dry them out thoroughly somewhere with good air circulation and in the shade. Drying time will vary depending on weather conditions. When completely dried, use an electric spice grinder and powder the root pieces. The amount of tincture to make depends upon how much powdered root you have. The formula for the standard 25% tincture is: Alcohol 75% Sweet Flag powder 25% So, if you end up with, say, 100 grams of powdered calamus root, add 300 grams alcohol to make a 25% tincture. Just make sure the ratio stays at 25% root to 75% alcohol. Put the tincture in your glass tincturing jar with stopper and let age for one month, shaking the jar up well at least once a day. After one month, filter and bottle it. Good Luck, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 > Acorus seems to be either distilled for oil or dried for >sachets........ but you could try it both fresh and drying it and see >which is best...... let us know your results. For tincturing purposes, use dry roots, not fresh. Water does not add to a tincture, but dilutes the alcohol which can lead to problems if the alcohol drops below 90%. > the roots are usually recommended to be at least 2-3 years old. >hope this helps. I believe you are confusing Orris Root with Calamus Root. Orris Root needs to age at least 3 years before its violet-like scent fully develops. On the other hand, Calamus does not improve or change with age. Once the root is dried, it is good to go. Also, the best quality Orris Root is peeled of its " skin " , whereas peeling is not necessary with Calamus Root. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 I believe you are confusing Orris Root with Calamus Root. Orris Root needs to age at least 3 years before its violet-like scent fully develops. On the other hand, Calamus does not improve or change with age. Once the root is dried, it is good to go. Also, the best quality Orris Root is peeled of its " skin " , whereas peeling is not necessary with Calamus Root. Mark Hi I checked the book about it and that's what was mentioned..... but I stand by your experienced hand on this one.....I don't have the book to hand as I am out of the house but it is an oldish one giving definitions uses various names culture etc. Thanks for the extra info on orris about peeling. .... very interesting didn't know that. Janita --------------------------------- All New – Tired of unwanted email come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 > <snip> Before you can tincture it, you must first process the roots. > Clean the roots off very well with a hose when harvesting. Then > take a sharp knife and chop the roots into dice/small pieces and > dry them out thoroughly somewhere with good air circulation and > in the shade. Drying time will vary depending on weather > conditions. <snip> > Good Luck, > Mark I'm wondering if one could use a food dehydrator on a low setting to accomplish this.... Any ideas? Andrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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