I have to admit that until a few weeks ago I had not even heard of cold infusions. I had made lots of hot infusions, but infusing herbs in cold water is a new and exciting experiment for me. Basically cold infusions are herbal infusions made by infusing the herbs in cold water overnight. This is the best method for delicate herbs that would lose some of their flavor and quality in hot infusions: herbs such as lemon balm or lemon verbena, and many flowers.
Cold infusions are great drinks for the summer months. They take longer to prepare than hot infusions, but you get a refreshing and delicately flavored infusion. If you add ice cubes it’s the perfect healthy drink for hot days.
How to Make a Cold Infusion with Herbs or Flowers
This is the basic recipe:
- 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs or 1 teaspoon of dried herbs or flowers
- 1 cup of cold water
Obviously you need to multiply the amounts depending on how much infusion you want. It makes sense to make a bigger batch at a time, since it takes time to infuse the herbs.
Place the herbs in a pot or a jar. Pour the cold water over the herbs and flowers. Cover the pot/jar, and leave the herbs to infuse for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight. You can place the jar in the fridge. When the infusion is ready, pour it through a sieve and you have your cold infusion! You can always heat the infusion up a little to make it lukewarm or warm for drinking, but I like my cold infusions cold.
Herbs that are great for cold infusions (and might even be more suitable for cold infusions than hot infusions) include
- lemon verbena
- lemon balm
- mint
- rose
- chamomile
- hibiscus
- lavender
- mistletoe
- angelica
- valerian
Or you might want to experiment with your own garden herbs. Let us know what you try!
I hadn’t thought to try that before either! What a great idea for a healthier way to add flavor and nutrients to water, rather than all those flavor packets and drops out there today.