Infusing oils - question?!?!?

[Vidasworld12]

Hey everyone.. hope your all having a great Monday ..
How do you infuse oils with let's say - chamomile and other teas??
I tried doing it with chamomile- olive oil with two chamomile tea bags ( 100% flowers ) on a double boiler method for 2 hrs on medium heat .. I was checking it often ... once it was done it felt like the oils were luke warm .. so how can that be infused well??? It didn't smell too strong - just like olive oil ... I did my soap and all but how do you know it worked ??

Could you cold infuse?? In a jar with the flowers/ tea for a few weeks ?? Without heating ??

Thank you all in advance .. I really appreciate your replies!

 

[Obsidian]

I cold infuse for about 4 weeks. Make sure to use dried herbs when doing it like that, fresh can mold.

 

[sweetbean]

Did you stir it every once in awhile? I don't think you let it get hot enough for it to infuse well.

 

[Dahila]

cold infusion here, up to 8 weeks but 4 weeks you can use the infusion. High temps will kill the herb

 

[shunt2011]

I too cold infuse. Put the herbs in a jar, cover with oil and seal the jar. Give it a shake ever so often. After 4 weeks or so I'm good to go.

 

[IrishLass]

Is there anything like a set-in-stone ratio of oils to dried herbs?


IrishLass

 

[Arimara]

If you do a warm infusion, you need to make sure the temp of your oils do not get too hot and you should not have to steep your herbs for so long. I don't use it for soaping but when I steep annatto seeds, I heat my OO to about 170 or 180 F and I steep it for about 3-5 minutes. Any higher and I would cook the seeds.

 

[Vidasworld12]

Thank you all .. I think cold infuse is prob easier .. longer but more effective mayb... I did stir a few times , but it just felt like it was not doing much .. the oil was like warm by the end .. not hot .. so I figured that didn't do much .. thank you all so much for such quick ! Great advise !! Much appreciated!!

 

[Vidasworld12]

Would it be easier, faster , and stronger ( the infusion) if I just did like a tea instead?
And add it to the lye ?? Like the coffee soap ppl make ?

 

[DeeAnna]

Is there anything like a set-in-stone ratio of oils to dried herbs?...

If you use the "simpler's method", you basically want the oil to completely cover the herb plus some extra oil on top, and that's about it. Some people advise covering the herb with roughly double the volume of oil -- what I mean by this is if the herb depth is 2" in the jar, the oil will be 4" high in the jar.

According to the references I have -- If you want to get more precise, you can make a standardized infusion using a ratio of 1 part by weight of the herb to 2 parts by weight of oil. The herb should be dry but not to a crisp -- you want a 50% to 70% reduction in water weight to best preserve color and active chemical content. The herb should be cut, torn, crushed, or otherwise reduced in volume so it lies below the surface of the oil, but not powdered. You can also use a small weight to hold the herb below the surface if needed. Infuse for 2-3 weeks in a dark place at warm room temp.

Would it be easier, faster , and stronger ( the infusion) if I just did like a tea instead? ...

Do you mean a water infusion? Yes you can do that. A water infusion (tea) is certainly easier and faster than an oil infusion.

Whether it's stronger is another question. Oil dissolves different chemical components than water does, so the result is simply different, not necessarily stronger.

 

[Saranac]

If you want to get more precise, you can make a standardized infusion using a ratio of 1 part by weight of the herb to 2 parts by weight of oil. The herb should be dry but not to a crisp -- you want a 50% to 70% reduction in water weight to best preserve color and active chemical content. The herb should be cut, torn, crushed, or otherwise reduced in volume so it lies below the surface of the oil, but not powdered. You can also use a small weight to hold the herb below the surface if needed. Infuse for 2-3 weeks in a dark place at warm room temp.

Thank you for this bit of information!

 

[IrishLass]

If you use the "simpler's method", you basically want the oil to completely cover the herb plus some extra oil on top, and that's about it. Some people advise covering the herb with roughly double the volume of oil -- what I mean by this is if the herb depth is 2" in the jar, the oil will be 4" high in the jar.

According to the references I have -- If you want to get more precise, you can make a standardized infusion using a ratio of 1 part by weight of the herb to 2 parts by weight of oil. The herb should be dry but not to a crisp -- you want a 50% to 70% reduction in water weight to best preserve color and active chemical content. The herb should be cut, torn, crushed, or otherwise reduced in volume so it lies below the surface of the oil, but not powdered. You can also use a small weight to hold the herb below the surface if needed. Infuse for 2-3 weeks in a dark place at warm room temp.

Thank you, DeeAnna!


IrishLass

 

[Vidasworld12]

Thank you ! Yes I mean basically a strong tea and then add the lye to it .. instead of plain water