Dandelion Root Herbal Vinegar

Taraxacum officanale

sizes 8 ounce $24.50 USD 16 ounce $36.50 USD 24 ounce $48.50 USD 32 ounce $60.50 USD Choose Free Empty Bottle

Dandelion Root Taraxacum officanale   This product is a whole herb Herbal Vinegar - no alcohol. The Dandelion Root that I use is from Mountain Rose Herbs, Origin: USA, Certified Organic by Ogegon Tilth. Bottle size is 8 ounces, two bottles for 16 oz, three bottles for 24 oz, and 4 bottles for 32 oz. If you want to buy more that 32 ounces contact me and we will discuss a method for increasing the order. Before you click the "Add to Cart" button choose your free empty bottle. See below for more information. See pic of the label.   About those ratios.

An 8 ounce bottle is a bit awkward to take with you to work or anywhere that you may be going and the 8 ounce bottles do not come with dropper caps, so choose a free empty bottle with your order above. You may choose only 1 free empty bottle per filled bottle purchased, for example: If you purchase one bottle of Saw Palmetto and one bottle of St. John's Wort, you can pick two free empty bottles. In the text field under "Choose Free Bottle" just enter "½ ounce" for a free .5 ounce bottle with dropper cap, or "1 ounce" for a free 1 ounce bottle with dropper cap. If you don't want a free bottle just leave the field blank or enter "none". If anyone makes a mistake and enters a choice of more than one bottle per item purchased, I'll send only the largest size chosen.
    If you'd like to purchase more 1 ounce or .5 ounce bottles, see below here for that.

Sizes 1 ounce $2.75 USD 0.5 ounce $2.50 USD

Empty Bottles These are empty bottles with droppers that you can use to take smaller quanities with you when you are away from home. Bottle sizes are 1 ounce and ½ ounce (0.5 oz) with dropper caps.

Check with a trusted health care professional before using. No one employeed by, or working for Teas and Tinctures is a health care professional.

It is not possible to warn about every potential bad reaction a person's body might have to the topical or internal use, or accidental contact with or ingestion of (including inhalation) herbal products. We're all different, we all change every day. I cannot assume responsibility for knowing details about your health that would indicate the possibility of negative responses by your body from using any of the products sold from this web site. You should research any new substance that you consume or otherwise use as it relates to your personal health status and then consult with a trusted health care professional about any concerns or uncertainties relating to such consumption or use.

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is not intended for the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease.

If any of these warnings and cautions are not clear, if you don't understand them well, contact me for assistance. If these email links don't work for you please copy/paste one of them into your email.

Just the basics:

 Half gallon jar with lid
        Wax paper
        6 ounces of herb
        54 ounces of menstruum

Now the full recipe. What you'll need:

A glass jar with a lid that will seal air tight. Canning jars work well. This recipe will be for half gallon jars.

Wax paper to protect the lid from the vinegar acid, or a jar with a plastic lid.

Dandelion root herb. The Dandelion Root herb that I get from Mountain Rose Herbs is cut and sifted so that it works well for extractions. I use 6 ounces by weight of herb for each one half gallon jar.

A scale to weigh the herb if you want to keep up with the ratios of herb to menstruum, such as 1:9. You'll also need a measuring cup or container to measure out the menstruum.

The menstruum. This will be the apple cider vinegar (Make sure you use Apple Cider Vinegar. This is not the same as white vinegar or a cleaner vinegar.).

Here we go. Put 6 ounces (by weight) of herb into a half gallon wide mouth canning jar. If you want smaller containers you can put 3 ounces into quart jars.

For 6 ounces of herb I use 54 ounces (by volume) of menstruum. Now pour in the menstruum until it covers the herb and fills most of the extra room left in the jar (Note here: Most cut and sifted dandelion root will float in apple cider vinegar and there's not much you can do about it). If it doesn't completely cover the herb you must add more until it is completely covered (Just ignore this instruction if the herb is floating in the menstruum). Leave just a little bit of space empty at the top for shaking room, I like about 1 inch. If you are using a specific amount of menstruum so that you can keep track of the herb to menstruum ratios you will have to make the necessary adjustments.

Sealing the jar. This is where you use the wax paper if you don't have a plastic or non-metallic lid. Canning jars usually use flats and rings to seal the jars with. The flats are coated and look like they might resist the acid in the vinegar but they will not, so, I use wax paper. I use two layers of wax paper on the mouth of the jar. Cut the pieces plenty big enough, don't skimp on the size. Now put the flat on top of the wax paper and press gently to hold things in place while you get the ring on and start tightening it down. This is a little tricky and may take some experimenting but you can do it.

Now the jar should be tightly sealed, make sure because you could make a "not fun" mess here. Turn the jar upside down give it a good shake. Turn it right side up and shake it again.

Attach a lable to the jar with, at least, the name of the herb and the date that you started the extraction. I put the name of the herb, batch number, and date on mine but I've got a lot of them to keep straight. Shake it up again just in case it tries to clump up into a solid mass in the bottom. Put the jar somewhere that's easy to get to but in the dark, or at least, not in direct light. Covering it with a thick towel or brown paper bag will work.

A note on pressure build up: I have not had pressure build up with this herb while making an herbal vinegar but if you want to make sure just loosen the ring enough so that pressure can equalize but don't pull off the wax paper.

Now the waiting. Let it sit for a few weeks. I always let mine extract for 7 weeks but 5 or 6 would probably work about as well. Shaking it up every day to loosen up the settling at the bottom will help it along. Doing this in the beginning is more important than later on but make sure that the menstruum is covering all of the herb. Dandelion root seems to float a bit so try to keep it wet with the vinegar. I usually tip it upside down and shake it a bit every day for the first three or four days and then maybe every other day for the next few weeks. Life can get complicated so if you miss a few days don't stress too much just do what you can do. I'm lucky enough that I'm able to stay on schedule without significant changes in my herbal extraction routines.

This next part is after you've let the apple cider vinegar do its work on the herb for a few weeks, seven weeks for me, and now it's time to strain the contents of the jar.

This is important I have never had any mold problems with herbal vinegars but if you suspect that there may be mold inside your jar, don't take the chance, toss it out and try again. The only reason I can think of for any mold growth might be that the floating herb on top stayed dry too long, but again, I've never seen it happen. Note: If the herb you used did have a lot floating to the top and some above the level of the menstruum, after a few days of regular shaking it will probably get soaked enough that it will stop floating.

What you'll need.

Pour the whole batch into your straining setup and let the vinegar drain through into the catch pot. Some herbs drain quickly (like Saw Palmetto Berries) but others drain slowly. If you've had to use powdered herb it will take longer. Don't use powdered herbs if you can avoid it.

When you think it's drained enough, pull up the edges of the straining cloth and twist and squeeze to get more liquid out.

It's handy to have an extra pan, big plate, or anything that you can set the straining cloth with the herb still held in it, in or on while you deal with the infused vinegar that you've just strained out.

Use the funnel to help pour the vinegar into a jar or other containers if you have any that you prefer.

Do not use metal containers to store an herbal vinegar. Remember that the ACV is acidic and it will react as acids do with metals if it's stored in a metal container. When I strain the batch using a pot it's good quality stanless steel and the ACV is only in the pot for an hour or less. I've never noticed any signs of corrosion with this pot but I would never store the herbal vinegar in it beyond this straining step.

It's actually better to store it in a few smaller containers so that you don't have to be exposing the whole batch to the air every time you take some out. Air and light are the enemies of herbal extracts so store them in smallish containers and in the dark or at least out of direct light. Label your containers. Put the herb name and date of extract completion, or the date when you started the extraction, whichever you prefer, on your containers. A few months later, you may be glad you did. :)