Sugar or honey will act as a preservative for herbal infusions and decoctions,
while the sweetness can be very soothing for coughs. Make a standard infusion or decoction,
then strain the mixture and add l lb/500g of unrefined sugar or honey to
each 1 pt/500ml of liquid. Stir this in a cast-iron or stainless-steel
saucepan over the heat until the sugar or honey is
completely dissolved and the mixture forms a syrup. Allow to cool and then store in
clean glass bottles closed with a cork. Do not use screw-tops, syrups
often ferment and tight lids will lead to exploding bottles.
Traditionaly ayurvedic remedies are taken
as fresh juices, pastes, or purees, generally
mixed with ghee or oil; as decoctions; as hot
and cold infusions; or as macerations. The
traditional proportion for decoctions
is one part herb to 16 parts water, which is then simmered
until the volume has reduced to one-quarter of the original
This process takes several hours to complete. Hot infusions use the
proportion of one part herb to eight parts boiling water,
with the infusion being left for up to 12 hours,
rather than the 10-15 minutes that are generally
allowed in the West. Some ayurvedic practitioners In the West
recommend increasing the dosage and cutting the
simmering or infusion time to Western proportions in
order to make the preparation more compatible with
Western lifestyles. Decoctions can be simmered until
three-quarters of the water is left and dosages doubled
or trebled, with a similar increase in dosages for a
minimum hot-infusion time of 30 minutes.
Milk decoctions are made…
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