Triple-Calendula Infused Oil: Round 1

Calendula-infused oil Disadvantage: It’s messy.

Calendula-infused oil Advantage: It is so pretty and can be made into an ointment for dry skin and wounds (Chevallier, 2000).  I am going to make mine into a pretty orange lip balm to replace my ever-favorite "OH! ORANGE!" Maybelline Baby Lips.  

Calendula officinalis is rich in triterpenes, resins, bitter glycosides, volatile oil, phytosterols, flavonoids, mucilage, and carotones (Chevallier, 2000).  So what?  "What does it do?" you might ask.  Calendula's actions are anti-inflammatory, relieve muscle spasms, astringent, prevent hemorrhaging, heal wounds, antiseptic, detoxifying, and mildly estrogenic (Chevallier, 2000).  Quite a few of these actions make it a great choice for a salve, or in my case, lip balm - lucky for me, it's orange.  In case you're horrified at the thought of an orange colored lip balm, have no fear: It might sound scary, but when it's applied to the lips, it's exquisite.

As I begin to write this portion of the post, my Calendula (Calendula oficinalis) infusion is brewing. 

My plan is to make a triple infusion to saturate the oil with robust orangeness.  In a few hours, after the Calendula and oil have infused, I will remove the flowers from the oil and repeat the following process two more times. 

***Ideally for this process, I would’ve used a crockpot with a dimmer switch to keep the temperature between 100 and 120 degrees.  I’ve enlisted someone to rig the contraption for me, but alas, I will not be seeing this individual for possibly another week.*** 

The method I am using to infuse my Calendula oil is from Andrew Chevallier’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (2000). On page 294, he describes the process for hot infused oils, which I will walk you through with my pictures.

For the infusion, I am measuring a ratio of 1g herb: 5mL oil.  I measured out 5g of Calendula to be mixed with 25mL of Olive oil.  

I used my little hand crank sifter to process the flowers. 

It was fun, but I think next time, I’ll bust out my coffee grinder for greater efficiency.

5mg processed Calendula flowers, ready to go!

I looked at my graduated cylinder and realized how little product I’d end up with if I only used 25mL of Olive oil.  I ended up going back and measuring 5 more grams of Calendula and reprocessed. 

I feel like 50 mL of Olive oil is an acceptable amount for this process.  

I poured the oil onto the processed Calendula flowers and mixed them up. 

Somehow, I expected my Calendula flower bits to be swimming around in the oil.  I wonder if this thick, paste-like mixture has anything to do with the fact that my Olive oil looks like the consistency of soft butter.  It is pretty cold in here, after all.

I’ve brought the water in my double-boiler to a boil

Then I brought it down to a simmer.

 One more look at the pretty mix before the big change:

Since I am not pouring my mixture straight into the double-boiler, I am placing my Calendula and Olive oil jar in the steam basket over the simmering water.

I’ve set a timer for two hours.  When two hours is up, I’ll go check on my infusion and decide whether to let it go for another hour.  Chevallier recommends letting this type of infusion “simmer gently for 2-3 hours” (p294).

Two hours later…

With a rubber scraper, I scraped out the oil and flowers into a potato ricer to push the oil out into a measuring cup.

I ended up with 31.5 mL oil.  

Because I’ve decided to infuse this oil two more times, I am topping off this infusion with enough Olive oil to restore the volume to 50 mLs.  I am weighing out 10 more grams of Calendula and repeating the process.  Stay tuned.

Chevallier, A. (2000). Hot Oil Infusions. In Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (p. 294). London: Dorling Kindersley.

 

Relaxing Tea Blend: Hot and Solar Infusions

For a relaxing tea blend, I chose to blend 1 part Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), 1 part Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita), a pinch of Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) and a pinch of Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora).

Of the four herbs, Skullcap is the only one that I chose solely for its relaxing qualities. I do not particularly care for the strong, bitter taste, but its sedative and nervine tonic actions (Chevallier, 2000) are enough to keep me coming back for more.  

Lemongrass, according to the Natural Standard, is used in Brazil for “nervous and gastrointestinal disturbances, fever, anxiety, sleep disorders, and convulsions” (Natural Standard, 2015); but its uplifting aroma is reason enough for me to give it a prominent role in this relaxing blend.  When it’s time to relax, it is a good idea to surround yourself with pleasantries.  It just so happens that in the case of Lemongrass, the aroma is a result of constituents that gained the herb its popularity for use with muscle pain and conditions of exhaustion (American Botanical Council, 2013).

Chamomile also has volatile oils giving it a pleasant, uplifting aroma.  Going back to Chevallier’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, “German chamomile, which contains spiroether, a strong antispasmodic, eases tense muscles… relieves irritability and helps sleep, especially in children.”  There are many other uses for Chamomile, but its sedative properties makes it a first choice for this relaxing tea blend.  

Last, but not least, this infusion would not be complete without a hint of Peppermint, which serves many purposes.  Remember the bitter taste of the Skullcap that was mentioned in the beginning?  Peppermint does a great job of tucking that bitter taste away where it belongs.  Its essential oil is also known to uplift the spirit – simultaneously stimulating the circulation and relaxing the nerves (Ransom, 2014).  

Using these four herbs, I made a hot infusion (tea) and a solar infusion (kind of).  

For the hot infusion, I used 2g Lemongrass, 2g Chamomile, a pinch of Skullcap, a pinch of Peppermint, and 1 cup of hot water. 

It was lovely, but a little too delicate for my preference.  Perhaps 3 or 4 grams of Lemongrass and Chamomile would have put it where I’d like it to be.  I think I'll add some Stevia leaves next time, too.

Next, I made what I like to call a faux-lar infusion.  I used the same herbs, only instead of 2g each of Lemongrass and Chamomile, I used 4g; and a pinch of Skullcap and Peppermint.  Behold:

Unfortunately, I am running a little short on sun and heat, so I set up an aquarium and lined three of its walls and the base with aluminum foil.  The clear wall is set up to face a south-facing window.  I also clipped a grow lamp to the lip of the aquarium and placed a heating pad under the aquarium.  

*The Sage and Lemongrass in the Ball jar is not part of this assignment.

3.5 hours later…

You might notice that it looks shaken at the top.  Shortly after I took a picture of the label (two pictures above this one), I noticed that some of the herb seemed like it wasn’t saturating, so I shook it.  At that moment, the sight of the plant matter clinging to the sides of the glass struck me with instant regret. Don't do what I did. The water will soak up the plant material.

I squeezed out what I could and I’m satisfied with the resulting amount of liquid.

I am surprised that this tea turned out as strong as it did.  I was expecting a weaker infusion.  I’d like to try this again when more natural light and heat is available.  When I do, I am going to add another gram of Chamomile to bring out the flavor more.  What surprises me about this blend is that the smell of Chamomile is stronger than its taste.  

If only I could post the aroma - it is heaven in a glass!

Time to enjoy!

American Botanical Council. (2013). Lemongrass. Retrieved from American Botanical Council: https://my.muih.edu/?page_id=1511#param.wapp?sw_page=@@@@@@ceHome%3Fufgp%3DMonographs/Monograph0226.html   

Chevallier, A. (2000). Skullcap. In Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (p. 135). London: Dorling Kindersley. 

Chevallier, A. (2000). German Chamomile. In Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (p. 80). London: Dorling Kindersley.

Natural Standard. (2015). Lemongrass: Natural Standard professional monograph. Retrieved from Natural Standard: https://0-naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com.muih.iii.com/databases/food,-herbs-supplements/l/lemongrass/professional.aspx

Ransom S. 2014. Peppermint. Dr. Christopher's Herbal Legacy. Retrieved from http://www.herballegacy.com/Ransom Medicinal.html