Reply To: Medicine Making | External Preparations
Hi there,
I made a balsam poplar bud infused oil and it seems to have fermented. Is that possible? Here’s what I did: I harvested the poplar buds in late winter (they were dry and still closed, but had a nice stickiness to them), left them out at room temperature for 24 hours to make sure any frost or snow residue I would have missed had a chance to dry, and then I put them in olive oil. I put a paper towel on the jars and left them to infuse at room temperature. Within a day or two, the buds started opening in the oil and rising to the surface, I pushed them down and put the lid on after two days. The buds would keep on opening and rising and I’d see the lid bulge. When I unscrewed the lid, it was like opening a can of pop: gas released and bubbles fizzed up in the oil. Then the buds would close and go down and again, just to go through the whole cycle of opening, rising, and gas forming again. I strained the oil, there is no water in it, it has the aromatic poplar scent, but also a sour aftertaste reminding me of kombucha.
What went wrong? Can I still use the oil?
Thank you,
Sylvie