How to Make Comfrey Infused Oil The Homestead Garden. How to Make Comfrey Infused Oil. As a gardener, Im pretty busy in spring, summer, and fall. Every winter, however, I FINALLY have time to make herbal remedies to prepare for the coming year. This includes salves, herbal teas, tinctures, etc. Especially salves. They last for at least a year, so I can make them when I have time in the winter, and then use them when I need them for the rest of the year. Heres the problem The recipes all call for infused oils with plants that are only available in my yardgarden during the spring and summer. Boo  So, this spring, I made the time to gather plants for all of the following infused oils Plantain Infused Oil, Comfrey Infused Oil, and Dandelion Infused Oil. I am going to make all three of these infused oils on the SAME DAY. That way, I can get three chores done at the same time, and I will still have time to do all of my gardening chores. Booyah. NOTE This summer, Ill make Calendula Infused Oil and Yarrow Infused Oil in one day, too. How to Make Lemon Olive Oil. Olive oil and lemons are two superfoods. Olive oil is great for your heart and keeping your cholesterol in check and lemons. How to Make Comfrey Infused Oil. I have an unfinished post about how to grow comfrey and why you should grow it, and someday Ill get that posted for you all. Life is so busy, and sometimes these things get pushed farther and farther down the chore list. Buffalo Roll. So heres a great post from another awesome gardener about why you should grow comfrey. Basically, it attracts pollinators and other beneficial insects its a fantastic nutrient rich plant that makes great fertilizer and its a wonderful herbal remedy plant for both people and livestock. I was told that it is difficult to grow comfrey from seed, so, of course, that was a delightful challenge for me to conquer. Out of the 5. 0 seeds in the packet, I managed to successfully grow 2 comfrey plants. Mint Infused Olive Oil' title='Mint Infused Olive Oil' />Thats all I needed to start, since its spreading from the seeds it constantly drops. Soon I will have too much comfrey, and I will be pulling it up and giving it away to anyone who will take it. This sounds like a pretty awesome problem to have. Why I am Making Comfrey Infused Oil According to the great herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in her book Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health Comfrey facilitates and activates the healing of damaged tissues, bones, and joints. It is easy to make herb andor spice infused olive oils at home. They make wonderful gifts for all occasions. Wash and dry your choice of herb branches and lightly. Herbs, whether locally found or grown in the garden, carry medicinal and culinary purposes, allowing homesteaders to make teas, tinctures and infused oils from them. This simple garlic infused Olive Oil for Ear Infection is a simple natural remedy that helps ease the pain of infection immediately. You can substitute any variety of mint for this recipe. Try interesting flavors such as chocolate mint, orange mint, pineapple mint, or spearmint or combine. How to make homemade shaving cream with coconut oil and shea butter that smells like a delicious rosemary mint. Great for personalized Christmas gifts or just. Mint Infused Olive Oil' title='Mint Infused Olive Oil' />It is one of the best herbs for treating torn ligaments, strains, and bruises. Comfrey helps speed the healing for many things, including broken bones, poison ivy, scrapes, damaged joints, muscle pains, etc. Since Comfrey is so helpful with skin and deep musclejointbone issues, I plan on using it in my salves this winter. Ill make sure to include those recipe links in this post when I have them finished, but in the meantime, heres a list of great salvesrecipes that use Comfrey Infused Oil Directions for Comfrey Infused Oil Decide how much Comfrey Infused Oil you will need and find a glass jar that fits those needs. Since I will be combining it with other infused oils, I am using a jar like this. Harvest the comfrey leaves on a dry and sunny afternoon. Use a scissors to cut the comfrey leaves into pieces. Allow the comfrey pieces to dry overnight. If you do not own comfrey, you can purchase dried comfrey leaves from Mountain Rose Herbs. Use one of the following Infusion methods with your Comfrey Infusion Oil Solar Infused Oils his is the old fashioned way of making Infused Oils. Fill your glass jar half full with the herbsplants and and then completely cover them with your oil good quality olive oil is the best right up to the brim. Use a spoon or butter knife to gently stir the plants to make sure there are no air pockets. Cover tightly. Place the jar in a warm and sunny spot and let it steep for 4 6 weeks. Check it every few days and gently shake it to encourage the plants to release their medicinal benefits. After 4 6 weeks, strain the oil through some cheesecloth keeping the oil, and make sure to wring that cheesecloth good and tight to get every last precious drop of your medicinal oil. This is my preferred method. It takes a while, but it makes me feel closer to nature and the olden days. Double Boiler Method Infused Oils This is a the quick method for making Infused Oils, best for those times you need an Infused Oil ASAP. This creamy olive oil is all natural, vegetarian and dairy free. Substitute anywhere you might use melted butter, to dip bread in, more. Olive Terrace Bar Grill brings a fresh fusion taste to Valencia, CA with lunch dinner menu that has something for everyone in Santa Clarita. Place the herbs and olive oil in a double boiler and bring very slowly to a low simmer. Slow slow SLOWLY heat for at least 3. The basic rule here is that the lower the heat and the longer the simmering can happen, the better and medicinally stronger the oil will be. If your stovetop gets too hot, it might destroy the medicinal properties of the plant, so please remember to keep it on low Then strain the oil through some cheesecloth keeping the oil, and make sure to wring that cheesecloth good and tight to get every last precious drop of your medicinal oil. This is the method that I used for my Sore Muscle Salve. Other methods Ive seen Ive read of people using crockpots. You should place a towel on the crockpot bottom, put the jars with tight covers in the crockpot, and add water to half way up the jars. Put on the lowest setting for 1. Ive also read of people using yogurt makers in a similar way. These versions just need to make sure the heat is LOW. Some people do the opposite of solar infused oils they put the jars in a dark place for 4 weeks instead of a warm and sunny spot. I find these two opposing ideas fascinating, and Ive done both in the past. I personally prefer the sunny and warm method for infused oils and I use a dark and cool place for my tinctures. Id love to know your preferences in the comments My jars before I added the olive oil Dandelion, Plantain, Comfrey. Other tips for your Comfrey Infused Oil Make sure to label your jars with the name and when you made it otherwise you will end up like me finding dusty jars of liquid and no idea what it is. You certainly dont want to get your jars mixed up, plus, it helps you know when the oil might be expired. Check your Solar infused oil every few days for mold. If you see a small spot of mold, remove that herbplant part and the mold, and you houldbe okay. However, if there is lots of mold, sadly, the infused oil needs to be thrown away. Keep your Infused Oil in a cool, dark place. Most infused oils will last for a year or perhaps even longer, if stored correctly. If it begins to smell bad, it might have gone rancid, and its time to throw it away and make a new batch but really, Im sure you will use it up before the year is done. After I added the olive oil, now I just need to cap and labelNote on fresh vs. Infused Oils One thing that has always driven me crazy when Im researching how to make infused oils is that the recipes almost always call for dried herbs. It seems like such a pointless extra stepand one that takes quite a bit of time and energy as in the dehydrator would be using electricity constantly for 2. I think its partly because many people dont have access to these plants in fresh form. However, its also because there is a chance for mold issues with fresh herbsplants with the infused oil process. I dont recommend using fresh plants for infused oils that are meant for cooking, however, I still like to use fresh plants for medicinal infused oils. There are a few things you can do to prevent mold issues when using fresh herbsplants for infused oils Collect your plants on a sunny afternoon during a week thats had very little rain or no rain. We are looking to prevent too much water in the leaves. Do not wash your herbsplants because we dont want water introduced to the process. That means you should really make sure you are getting your plants from a location that hasnt been sprayed with yucky chemicals. Consider wilting your plants overnight. If you can afford using a dehydrator, feel free to use that overnight. I prefer the old fashioned way I place the plant parts on my kitchen counter overnight on a dry towel, and then I make the oil the next day.