Make comfrey salve using the cold or warm infusion methods
Most gardeners know comfrey as a perennial plant and a dynamic accumulator. Many people know of its reputation for assisting in healing process. When my sister needed surgery after a fall I gave her my last tin of homemade comfrey salve. I then took a walk out to the comfrey plants to harvest a bunch of leaves. I plant comfrey around new fruit trees where it helps keep the Kansas grasses from choking out my small fruit trees.
Make the comfrey herbal infusion (cold infusion method)
After a run through the dehydrator, I put the comfrey into a quart jar and filled it with oil to infuse. I put the lid on and leave in a dark place like a cabinet for 4 weeks or longer.
Ratios: infuse herbs to oil ratio (1:3 or 1:2). Use olive oil or coconut oil.
My sister said she would prefer the oil to a salve. In the meantime I took a 2 month long trip to a monastery in Alaska. When I got back I inquired about how the oil was working for her. She had changed her mind now that she was more mobile and now preferred the salve form. The oil taking time to absorb when she was spending a lot of time in bed resting wasn’t an issue. Having gone back to work having the salve hold in place while you move around was a feature. To make salve, you need to add beeswax.
Instant dilemma – I have downsized much of my stuff as I explore becoming a monk. I no longer have some of the equipment, like a scale to weigh the beeswax and infused oil. Staying with my sister and instead of the homestead meant my normal pots and jars are not available. Here is where #SkillsOverStuff comes into play. I have made salves and balms many times, so I know what the end result should be. Having tested many recipes I learned to make adjustments to rescue a less than perfect batch. So I opened up my notes and jumped into an “I don’t have the perfect set up anymore but I am going to Get Stuff Done (GSD)”.
Here is how I approached it:
How to make a comfrey salve or balm on the fly
You need:
- A large quart mason jar with comfrey infused in the oil.
- A pint glass mason jar.
- Tins with tight lids to put the salve in. Preferably a screw-on lid. (Scott uses small jelly jars).
- Strainer to strain the herbs from the oil.
- Beeswax to thicken into salve.
- Double boiler:
Clean used mason jar, paper towel, pot and water. Fill pot with water bring to good simmer. Put a paper towel on the bottom to keep the jar from rattling in pot. Water level above beeswax level for optimum melting efficiency. Double boiler also helps to keep you from over heating your infused oil.
After infusing the oil with comfrey for 4 weeks, pour the comfrey/oil mixture through a strainer to drain the infused oil into the clean mason jar in a pot, acting as a double boiler.
Add beeswax to the mason jar double boiler. Ratio: Looking back at my notes, I used 4oz of oil to 1oz beeswax when I did this last in 2018.
Note: If I use a pint mason jar, a little overfilled, I use 1-1/4 one ounce bars).
I use my Take-everywhere chopsticks from my Everyday Carry bag. (Wash them just in case..). A great stirring tool.
Once wax has melted, add oil. Let heat remelt any solidified wax from cool oil.
How to get the right texture: Dip second chopstick into oil wax, place in freezer to solidify. Test the texture and add more oil for smoother easy to spread salve.
When the mixture is right, hold the jar with oven mitts or paper towels pour into tins. Let it set.
Pro tip: Add a few drops of essential oils if you want to add a fragrance. (some people think that comfrey has a funky smell by itself).
Make the comfrey herbal infusion (warm infusion method) – quicker
An alternate, quicker way to make the infusion is to use the warm infusion method. This uses a crock pot and can infuse the comfrey in the oil in an afternoon.
- Add the comfrey to a pint jar with the ratios above. (you use a pint jar so it will stay below the water in the crock pot).
- Put a washcloth in the bottom of a crock pot. Put the pint jar with comfrey in the crock pot, on the washcloth. (The washcloth keeps it from getting too hot)
- Fill with water around the jar to near the top pf the crockpot. This keeps the oil immersed below the water line.
- Put the crock pot on Low and cook for several hours (6-8 hours). Keep the water filled to over the oil line.
- Cool, and then strain the comfrey and follow the remaining steps above to add beeswax.
I store my comfrey salve in half pint jars.
Tips:
Clean up tip isopropyl alcohol (found in most bathrooms or FSKs) works to clean sticky wax. Denatured alcohol is better (use from your camp or emergency stove supplies).
Ratios are easier to get consistent with a scale. Tips to scale: use the tar feature. Use 2 separate containers, one for oil, one for wax. Pro tip – weigh the oil first, then weigh out the wax based on the wax to oil ratio above.
Practice Your Skills
Spoiler alert: I can thrive without the usual equipment because I practice skills. In those years of practice, I have gained experience and the confidence to make do when I have to.
If you have a scale and the time to gather equipment do it. This took longer to adjust the ratio of wax to oil than when using a scale. I didn’t have enough new tins reused some empty tins and a couple of old Badgar Balm tins. Yes, new tins or Jam jars would be good. Especially if the salves are for gifts. Here is a link to get Tins with tight lids on Amazon
If you want to get into making herbal preparations then get the right equipment. That information is all over the internet and in books. This GSD approach is to demonstrate the Thriver cultural ethos. Don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Life is messy don’t let that intimidate you. A Thriver sets anxiety and worry aside, assesses the situation, and finds a solution with what is on hand. You could be off work from an injury and not have the money to get the equipment, so this good enough approach may help. It could also be out of your skillset and you need to call a friend or two. Nothing wrong with that. Scott and I started the GSD workshops from that exact problem – together we learned new skills and made life a little less messy. You can too!
Caution on using comfrey
If you have a deep cut, comfrey can actually make the skin on top grow together before the internal damage is adequately healed. This may lead to a trapped infection. Scientists also say that too much comfrey can be toxic, but that is in laboratory amounts that you would never duplicate by using the salve.
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- The Backyard Forest Garden e-book
- Agroforestry
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- Permaculture Thorns, A Book About Trying to Build Permaculture Community, by Paul Wheaton.
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