Mint Coa

Several years ago I cooked raw Chinese herbs at home until I learned enough about Chinese herbs to know better.  If you’ve ever had thoughts of cooking your own herbal remedies here’s what you need to consider before cooking herbs.

Traditionally, Chinese herbs were always cooked in a formula or group of herbs boiled in a water decoction process and then strained and drunk as a tea. Today, cooking herbs at home isn’t the most practical or safe approach to taking Chinese herbs as medicinals.

Cooking raw herbs might sound easy, but let’s explore some of what this entails.  First of all, when you buy raw Chinese herbs, do you know if your supplier has produced a COA (Certificate of Analysis) on the batch of raw herbs? COA’s list the results of testing for pesticide residue, heavy metals, and bacteria such as E-coli and other contaminants which might be on the herbs.  Do you know if the batch of raw herbs was rejected from a large herbal company because it did not pass heavy metal or pesticide test standards and ended up back on the wholesale market?  This is common-place in the wholesale world of Chinese herbs, and the biggest and best companies bid for the best raw herb products.

Secondly, do you know the difference between high quality Chinese Herbs and a lesser quality? When you are buying fruits in the market, you generally will pick through the bruised and damaged fruits.  You know what you’re looking for.  Can you say the same about your raw herbs?  Do you know the difference between a high quality red date (Da Zao) versus a low quality one?   Have the herbs been treated with sulfur to look fuller and plumper?   When you open your package of raw herbs, does the product look and smell fresh?  The same holds true for each raw herb you are purchasing.  There is a tremendous difference between a high quality Chinese herb product and lesser quality.  If you haven’t studied or spent any time investigating these differences, how do you know what you are buying?

Another important issue to consider is storage of raw herbs.  Unless you use your raw herbs quickly or store them in a refrigerator, bugs are bound to find their way into the herbs.  You will see little holes in roots and sometimes little worms or flies.  If you plan on cooking raw Chinese herbs at home, definitely give them a good washing before cooking and strain them well after cooking.  Plan on using them within a few months of purchasing them.

What about the cooking process itself?  Chinese Herbs have a variety of decoction cooking periods. You will want to be familiar with which herbs you are cooking and how long they should be cooked.  There is too much information about this subject to explore here.  In general, minerals and shells are cooked longer, sometimes as long as an hour.  Herbs such as mint (bo he) and Atractylodis Rhizoma (Cang Zhu) are cooked for only a few minutes.  These two herbs have highly volatile oil content which contains the active beneficial chemical constituents in the herbs, and when cooked for a longer period of time, the volatile oils are evaporated.

The temperature during the process of cooking Chinese herbs is another variable to consider.  Too high and you destroy active ingredients.  Too low and you don’t extract enough active ingredients.  Again, unless you have acquired a significant knowledge of herbs, most likely you will overcook your herbs.  That smell in the kitchen is probably the volatile oils evaporating into thin air.  Since typical home kitchens do not have fancy machines to capture volatile oils and reintroduce them back into the finished herb product, you will never be able to cook the same strength of product as a factory with high-tech equipment.  Additionally, some types of metal cookware can interfere with the active chemicals in various herbs. Traditionally, clay cookware was used.  Today, glass cookware is an option, although from my experience, glass is difficult to find.

Cooking your own Chinese herbs is probably not the best use of both your time and resources.  There are many excellent manufacturers of Chinese herbs to choose from with all the safety guards in place to ensure that you receive an effective and contaminant-free herb product.  Cooking at home just isn’t safe enough anymore.  Plus, there’s that little problem of the stench in the kitchen.

About the Author:

Cathy Margolin is a Licensed Acupuncturist in CA and has been certified as a Diplomat in Oriental Medicine from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She has specialized in Chinese Herbs and her company PACHerbs.com carries high potency herbal products sold in individual packets for freshness. She has visited herb manufacturers in both China and Taiwan and has extensively researched Chinese herb processing. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Process of Cooking Chinese Herbs at Home

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Several years ago I cooked raw Chinese herbs at home until they learned enough about Chinese herbs to learn more. If you've ever had thoughts of cooking their resources themselves to herbal here's what to consider before herbs for cooking.

Traditionally, Chinese herbs are always cooked in a formula or a group of href = "pacherbs.com" target = "_blank"> herbs cooked in a cooking process water and then strained and drunk as tea. Today, herbs for cooking at home Not the most practical and safe approach to take Chinese herbs as medicinal products.

Cooking raw herbs may sound easy, but we will explore some what this implies. First, when you buy raw Chinese herbs, do you know if your provider has a COA (Certificate of Analysis) in the batch of raw herbs? COA is the list of results of testing for pesticide residues, heavy metals and bacteria such as E. coli and other contaminants that could be on the grass. Do you know if the lot raw herb was rejected from a herbal company large because it was not heavy metal or pesticide test standards and finished again in the wholesale market? This is commonplace in the wholesale world of Chinese herbs, and the biggest and best offer for business the best products of raw herb.

Second, You know the difference between high quality Chinese herbs and a lower quality? When you are buying fruits in the market generally is chosen through the fruits beaten and damaged. You know what you're looking for. Can you say the same about their raw herbs? You know the difference between a high quality red date (da zao) versus to a low quality? Do you have herbs been treated with sulfur to look fuller and fatter? By opening the package of raw herbs, does the product look and smell fresh? The same is true for each raw herb you are buying. There is a huge difference between a high-quality Chinese herbs and of lower quality. If you have not studied or spent some time investigating these differences, how do you know what you're buying?

Another important issue to consider is the storage of raw herbs. Unless you use your raw herbs quickly or kept in the refrigerator, mistakes are bound to find its way onto the grass. You see small holes in roots and sometimes little worms or flies. If you plan on cooking raw Chinese herbs in the country, finally washing them well before cooking and tension well after cooking. Plan on using them within months of purchase.

What about the cooking process itself? Chinese Herbs have a variety decoction of cooking periods. You want to be familiar with the herbs you're cooking and how long should be cooked. There is too much information about this issue to explore here. In general, minerals and shells are cooked more, sometimes up to an hour. Herbs such as mint (BO him) and rhizome Atractylodis (Cang Zhu) are cooked for only a few minutes. These two herbs are highly volatile oil content that contains the active components beneficial chemicals in the herbs, and when cooked for a longer period of time, the volatile oil evaporates.

The temperature during the cooking process of Chinese herbs is another variable to consider. Too high and destroys active ingredients. too low and not sufficient to extract active ingredients. Again, unless they have acquired a considerable herbs, most likely burn your grass. That smell in the kitchen is probably the volatile oils evaporate into the air. Since the normal cooking at home do not have fancy machines to capture the volatile oils and reintroduced back into the grass finished product will never be able to cook the same strength of product, like a factory with high technology equipment. Furthermore, some types of metal cookware can interfere with the active chemicals in various herbs. Traditionally, cooking utensils are used clay. Today, glass cookware is an option, although from my experience, the glass is hard to find.

Cook your own Chinese herbs is probably not the best use of time and therefore resources. There are many excellent manufacturers of Chinese herbs to choose from with all the security guards in place to ensure that you receive an efficient and pollutant-free herbal products. Cooking at home is not only more secure enough. It should also be little problem of smells in the kitchen.

About the Author:

Cathy Margolin is a Licensed Acupuncturist in CA and has been certified as a Diplomat in Oriental Medicine from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She has specialized in Chinese Herbs and her company PACHerbs.com carries high potency herbal products sold in individual packets for freshness. She has visited herb manufacturers in both China and Taiwan and has extensively researched Chinese herb processing. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Process of Cooking Chinese Herbs at Home