Below, we will describe a recipe to make a propolis tincture, which is an awesome remedy for helping to prevent and fight sickness.
We also made a video of us making the propolis tincture! Check out the video here!
The finished product: a jar of propolis tincture!
Our Propolis Tincture Recipe
Equipment needed:
Scale (if making a specific concentration)
Ingredients needed:
Fine grain alcohol, ideally a 70%- 100% alcohol, but a lower percentage will still work (we used Tito's, a 40% alcohol)
Raw propolis chunks
Steps we followed:
Clean the dirt and bee parts off the propolis. We did this by first dunking the propolis in a mixing bowl of water. Lots of bee parts will float to the surface out of the propolis, and you will see the water turn dirtier as you let the propolis soak.
Tear down the propolis into pieces smaller than a marble. This will allow the propolis to dissolve easier in the alcohol. We tore the pieces apart with our fingers while they were in the bowls of water, which made it easier to continue cleaning the propolis. Bee parts trapped in the spaces in the propolis kept escaping as we tore the propolis down.
Combine the propolis with the alcohol. This isn't as simple as it seems. Based on the proportion of propolis to alcohol you use, as well as the percentage alcohol content your alcohol has, there are different concoctions you can make. Reference the chart to know how much propolis and alcohol to use to achieve the propolis concentration you are aiming for. We ended up taking the lazy way out and just filled the jars up with propolis, and then poured Tito's in until the jar was full. We don't know exactly what concentration tincture we made, but we certainly want to make as strong of a propolis tincture as we can, so we opted for the 40% alcohol (which isn't included on the chart).
Shake the jars twice a day for the next 2 weeks. This step just helps the propolis to dissolve into the alcohol quicker. It isn't a big deal if you forget to shake the jars a few times, but shaking will speed up that process.
After 2 weeks, the propolis tincture is complete!!!
Below is the reference chart for the propolis-alcohol ratio:
How to use the Propolis Tincture
There are lots of different ways to use a propolis tincture. Our 2 favorite ways is to simply put 15-20 drops of tincture into a glass of water or a cup of tea. This is considered one dose of propolis tincture. We take 1 dose each day in order to help prevent colds and sickness. If we do get sick, we up the dosage to 2 or 3 per day.
Note; heating up the propolis above 120 degrees fahrenheit will begin denaturing the helpful enzymes and killing the health benefits of the propolis tincture. If you are planning on putting the tincture in tea or another hot liquid, let the tea cool to below 120 F before adding the tincture.
We referenced this recipe while making our own tincture.
Don't forget to watch our video of how to make the propolis tincture on youtube!
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