From Weed to Wellness: How to make Plantain Salve Step by Step

This weed that commonly grows in your grass has so many beneficial properties. In this video I will show you how we cultivated it in our garden and how to turn it into a salve to use on skin irritations from bug bites to diaper rash, from poison ivy to eczema and more!
A note to self: if you are hiking in the woods and get bit by a bug but do not have a handy jar of plantain with you, simply find a plantain plant, take a leaf, chew it up and place it on the bite. A friend came to our camp and her hand was swollen from a wasp sting. She was on her way to get her ring cut off of her finger. We pulsed some fresh plantain in a mortar and pestle and place it on the bite then wrapped it with some gauze. A few hours later she texted us a photo of her hand that was back to normal. No need to cut off her ring!
The recipe below is the method I used. You can make plantain salve using fresh leaves as well but I prefer this method.
Equipment:
Dehydrator or oven or place to lay the leaves for drying them out
Food Processor (or hands)
Pint mason jars with lids and rings
Crockpot
Cheesecloth
Strainer
Pot
Wooden Spoon
Storage Containers (I used 4 oz jam mason jars)
Ingredients:
🌱5-8 rounded tablespoons dried plantain leaves (I used 8 tbsp) per pint jar
🌱Carrier oil such as olive, coconut, or avocado (I used first cold pressed olive oil)
🌱1 ounce beeswax pearls by weight, or about 3 tablespoons per cup of infused oil
🌱36-72 drops essential oil (I did not add any)
Instructions:
🌱Harvest your leaves on a dry, sunny day. Pull off any parts that look sick or diseased and brush off dirt with a dry cloth if needed.
🌱Arrange leaves in a single layer on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate on herb setting; about 95 degrees until crisp. I left mine in overnight.
🌱If you do not have a dehydrator then arrange the leaves on a clean, dry surface and allow them to air dry for 2-3 days.
🌱When the leaves are dry and crisp
place them in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are coarsely chopped. I crushed mine between my fingers and found it very relaxing!
🌱Place 5-8 tbsp ground leaves in a clean, dry pint mason jar and cover with oil. The oil should completely cover the leaves.
🌱Give the oil and plantain a little stir with a wooden spoon to make sure all the leaves are nicely submerged in the oil.
🌱Cover the jar with a lid.
🌱Place a jar rack or a kitchen towel in the bottom of your crockpot and place your jars inside.
🌱Add enough water to cover about half the jar and set to low heat. I recommend the lowest setting possible, which is the "keep warm" setting on the crockpot I use. Leave the crockpot uncovered and allow the oil to infuse for 2-6 hours or longer, adding water if needed to keep the level at half way up the jar.
🌱Every now and then, give the jars a little shake/swirl making sure no water gets into the jars.
🌱Remove the jar from the crockpot and strain the oil through cheesecloth covered fine mesh strainer into a bowl.
🌱Let the oil sit for several hours. If there is any water in the oil (from the plantain leaves) it will collect in the bottom of the jar. If there is any water in the oil, use a turkey baster (if you have one) to siphon the infused oil off the top, leaving the water behind. If you don’t have a turkey baster, carefully pour the oil off the top. Note: this should not happen if your leaves are thoroughly dried.
🌱Squeeze out all the precious plantain infused oil by wringing the cheesecloth tightly.
🌱Add about 1/2 cup oil to a quart sized jar and gently heat in a pot on the stove by adding water to the pot then putting the jar into the pot. (Alternatively you can use a double boiler.)
🌱Add the beeswax and stir constantly until thoroughly melted then start pouring the remainder of the oil into the jar while stirring constantly. Don't worry if it starts to congeal (get cloudy and wax thickens) thats from adding the cooled oil to the mix. Just keep stirring :)
🌱Once the oil and wax mixture is clear, simply pour into your storage containers and let sit until it hardens. (I used 4 ounce jam jars though you can get all sorts of containers for storage.)
🌱Once it hardens, put your lid on it and store it in a cool dry place.
🌱Label, Label, Label!
🌱The salve has a 1 yr. shelf life.
link to order: www.homesteadfoodgardens.com/
#health #recipe #skincare #plantain #natural