By Sharmini Jayawardena
Today I’m talking of this word: Tincture which has some interesting meanings according to the Collins Dictionary.
It states six meanings or definitions of the word. Those being:
1. a medical extract in a solution of alcohol;
2. a tint, colour or tinge
3. a slight flavor aroma or taste
4. any one of the colours or either of the colours used on heraldic arms
5. (obsolete) a dye or pigment
6. (verb, transitive) to give a tint or colour to
I actually stumbled upon tincture while browsing through a blog post: andhereweare.net on foraging and identifying edible foods in the wild. A most interesting post on foraging in the temperate parts of the planet.
It actually started with my reading her post on foraging for pine pollen which to me was a first. I had not heard of this pursuit before. A most wonderful endeavour I must say.
So let’s say if a forager gathered an abundance of pine pollen for example, s/he would sift the catkins which are kept over night for drying, then collect the finest pollen by sifting it through a cheesecloth covered sieve.
Making pine pollen tincture:
Now add two parts high quality (non-gmo), vodka to one part pollen. Keep in a jar in a cupboard, agitating occasionally, for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, strain it through a cheesecloth once more into a glass dropper bottle for a very strong tincture.
When you require the tincture in the event of any of the many maladies for which pine pollen is efficacious, with its many super-food qualities, such as vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and others, you can take the tincture right under your tongue from the dropper bottle at regular intervals, until you were cured.
(Pine pollen has been used in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine for thousands of years, as both food and medicine. Now it has become super popular with herbalists, nutritionists and wild-food enthusiasts.)
Apparently, the pine catkins themselves are edible and “are crispy, juicy and tastes like a Christmas tree 🎄 in the best possible way. They have a slight sweetness and the feel of under-ripe apples…just peel off the pappery bits and enjoy.”
