Herbal ice cubes are versatile little powerhouses of medicine. Store a batch of calendula ice cubes in your freezer to treat minor burns and scrapes. Put nettle ice cubes in your pets’ drinking water on a hot day to keep their electrolyte balance in check. Toss a few lemon balm ice cubes into your glass to add zest to your iced tea. The list of uses for herbal ice cubes is endless.
Ingredients for Making Herbal Ice Cubes:
- 2 cups water
- herb of your choice
Equipment for Making Herbal Ice Cubes:
- Stove
- Cooking Pot with a Lid
- Strainer
- Measuring Spoons
- 2 Cup Measuring Cup
- Ice Cube Tray
- Freezer
Process for Making Herbal Ice Cubes:
- Choose the herb for project carefully. Either dry or fresh herb is appropriate depending on the situation.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a pot on the stove.
- Add the herbs to the water then cover the pot with the lid. Herbs in the form of roots or bark must be cooked as a decoction by continuing to boil the herbs after the lid is secured. Herbs in the form of leaves or flowers must be cooked as an infusion by turning off the stove after the lid is secured and turning off the heat.
- Once tea is finished steeping, strain the tea back into the measuring cup. Some liquid loss is expected.
- Allow the tea to cool.
- Pour the tea into the ice cube tray. The average ice cube tray holds 1.75 cups of tea.
- Place the ice cube tray with tea in the freezer.
Storage of Herbal Ice Cubes
Once frozen, the herbal ice cubes may be taken from the tray and stored in a separate container in the freezer for future use. Be sure to label them so you remember what kind of herbs you used.