How to Make Lemon Balm Infused Olive Oil
Infusing oils with herbs is a centuries-old practice in holistic health, cooking, and skincare. Lemon Balm Infused Olive Oil has many benefits and is easy to make with accessible ingredients! My daughter started our lemon balm plant because she loved the smell. Later we found out it is beneficial in combating cold sores, so we made some Lemon Balm Lip Balm with our infused oil.
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Benefits of Lemon Balm Infused Olive Oil
Whether you’re using your lemon balm infused olive oil for skincare, balms, or in your cooking, it is so versatile and has a lot of great benefits! It is soothing, hydrating, and rich in antioxidants. Here are a few more benefits:
- calming because of its anti-inflammatory properties
- promotes skin healing from minor wounds, dryness, or irritated skin
- nourishes skin while brightening and evening out skin tone
- anti-bacterial properties help with fighting acne
- anti-viral properties which can help with cold sores
- benefits digestion and reduces bloating when used in cooking
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Lemon Balm – Grow and dry your own or if you don’t have access to fresh lemon balm yet, buying herbs from a reputable source is a great option! I love Mountain Rose Herbs because their values are so high and the quality of all their organic products is top-notch.
- Cheesecloth
- Jars/Containers – I usually use mason jars because I have a plethora of them but you can use any type of container that you have for storage.
- Oil of Choice – I used Organic Olive Oil in my recipe but you could use other oils. This olive oil is organic, cold-pressed, and extra virgin.
- Labels – A piece of tape will work but I like a cute label for my jars because why not?!
- Organic Vodka – This is optional but it helps to extract the oils out of your lemon balm more efficiently. You don’t need a lot so if you can find a smaller amount that would work too. I like to use organic when possible. You can also use vodka to easily make your own vanilla extract!
- Blender – I used my smaller NutriBullet for this! Use what you have and if you don’t have anything that will blend you can just skip the blending step, you’ll still have a great lemon balm infused olive oil by the end of it.
- Dehydrator, oven, drying rack, or tray for drying. My Air Fryer has a dehydrate setting as well so I like to use this when I have a small amount of herbs to dehydrate.
How to Make Lemon Balm Infused Olive Oil
There are many ways to infuse oils with herbs and you can use this method with any herb that you have. The important step is to make sure you’re starting with dried herbs so you get all the water content out. Different infusion techniques will result in different potencies for your oil. This recipe uses alcohol for the extraction and as a blender to create more surface area and a little heat to help get out as much of the good lemon balm oils as possible.
There are different methods of drying herbs. I let my lemon balm sit out for a few days to dry out. If you live in a really humid area you may want to dry it using a dehydrator or an oven on a low setting. Choose your method of drying and follow those instructions. If you don’t have fresh lemon balm for this recipe, grab some Organic Dried Lemon Balm from Amazon or Mountain Rose Herbs.
Drying Herbs using a Dehydrator
Gather your lemon balm and ensure there’s no dirt or debris by rinsing them under cool water. Pat the leaves dry as much as possible so there is not extra moisture going into the dehydrator. Leave lemon balm leaves whole for drying.
Spread them out in a single layer on the dehydrator tray with space in between for good air flow. Dehydrate at about 100º for 2-4 hours. These are fairly thin herbs so they don’t take long to dehydrate. Check periodically to make sure they are not overdrying. When they’re dried they should easily crumble. If they bend or feel leathery, they aren’t quite dry yet!
Drying Herbs using an Oven
Use caution when using your oven to dry lemon balm, they are delicate leaves and using a high temperature will cause them to lose potency and potentially burn. Start by rinsing and drying the lemon balm. Spread the leaves out on a baking sheet in a single layer, making sure they have space in between for air flow.
Heat the oven to about 170º and dry for 1-2 hours. Check the leaves every 30 minutes and flip them to ensure they dry evenly. If your oven doesn’t go below 200º, prop the door open and check more often to make sure the leaves aren’t burning. They are done when the leaves easily crumble and are not bendable or leathery.
Air Drying Lemon Balm
I used an air drying method for my lemon balm because I had plenty of time before I was going to make the lemon balm infused olive oil. Pick or gather the lemon balm and make sure there is no dirt on it. Lay the lemon balm leaves out in a single layer on a drying rack or tray.
Allow to sit in a dark, dry place for 1-2 weeks until they are fully dried. Check every few days to see if they are dried. When they’re ready, they should be crumbly. If the leaves are flexible or bendable, they are not dried yet.
Alcohol Intermediary Step
Once your lemon balm is dried crumble it into a bowl. You can also use a coffee grinder to crumble/powder your herb but lemon balm is small and easy to crumble by hand. After drying your herbs, crush them into small pieces into a bowl. Measure the herbs into a jar. You can eyeball it and loosely fill your half-pint jar about halfway full with crushed lemon balm leaves or you can measure about 1/4 oz. Pour about 1/2 Tbsp of alcohol into the jar and stir so all the leaves are moistened. The leaves should look damp but there shouldn’t be any alcohol pooled at the bottom. Make sure you are using a neutral alcohol that is at least 80 proof, NOT rubbing alcohol or anything flavored.
Cover and let sit for about 8 hours or overnight. Extracting using alcohol makes a stronger extraction because it extracts specific compounds while the oil extracts other compounds. Using two different solvents makes for a more potent, vibrant, and aromatic infusion.
Why do you Blend the Lemon Balm Infused Olive Oil?
After about 8 hours, pour in the oil to fill the jar. You don’t want a lot of room at the top. The more air that is in your jar, the more chance there is for bacteria and mold to grow. Pour the mixture into the blender and blend until you feel a little heat coming from the blender, just a few minutes. The reason to blend your mixture is to help increase the surface area so more of the plant is being exposed to the oils. It helps expedite the infusion process so it doesn’t have to infuse as long. It also helps to break down the plant cells which allows more oils, nutrients, and medicinal properties to be released into your oil.
How Long does the Lemon Balm Infusion Take?
Pour the blended mixture back into the jar, it should fit perfectly. Look at the beautiful yellow color of the oil after it was blended! You’ll notice in my pictures that I was using very small amounts. This was fine until the blending step, where it was too little to really get my blender going. I recommend at minimum 1/4 oz of crumbled leaves (about a half cup or to fill a half-pint jar half way) with about a cup of oil and 1/2 Tbsp alcohol to make sure your blending step goes well. If you have to double the recipe and use a pint jar that would work out perfectly as well! Cover, label, and put into a warm, dark place that doesn’t have a lot of moisture for 2-4 weeks. Shake your oil infusion every day or every couple of days.
After about 2-4 weeks, use cheesecloth and a funnel to strain the lemon balm out of the olive oil. Make sure you squeeze all of the oil out of the herbs. Store in a dark jar or bottle for up to a year out of sunlight. I can’t wait for you to try this lemon balm infusion!
Other Infused Oils and Recipes
- Plantain Infused Sunflower Oil
- Dandelion Infused Olive Oil
- Plantain Salve
- Dandelion Tallow Sugar Scrub made with Dandelion Olive Oil
Lemon Balm Infused Olive Oil
Equipment
- blender
- jar
- cheesecloth
Materials
- 1/4 oz dried lemon balm
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/2 Tbsp neutral alcohol like vodka
Instructions
Dry Lemon Balm Using Dehydrator
- Rinse and pat dry lemon balm leaves. Spread out in a single layer on the tray with space in between to allow for airflow.
- Set dehydrator to about 100º and allow to dry for 2-4 hours, checking periodically to see if they're done. They are dried when the leaves crumble and are no longer leathery or flexible.
Dry Lemon Balm Using Oven
- Rinse and pat dry lemon balm leaves. Spread out in a single layer on the tray with space in between to allow for airflow.
- Heat the oven to about 170º and allow leaves to dry for 1-2 hours, checking every 30 minutes to see if they're done. Flip the leaves over so they dry evenly. They are dried when the leaves crumble and are no longer leathery or flexible.
- If your oven doesn't go under 200º you can leave the door propped open and check more frequently to ensure the leaves aren't burning or drying too quickly.
Air Dry Lemon Balm
- Rinse and pat dry lemon balm leaves. Spread out in a single layer on the tray with space in between to allow for airflow.
- Set the tray in a dark, cool place for 1-2 weeks to allow the lemon balm to dry. Check every few days to see if they are crumbly and dry. If the leaves are flexible and leathery, they aren't dry yet.
Infusing the Oil
- After your herbs are dried, crush them into small pieces into a bowl. Measure the herbs into a jar. Pour alcohol into the jar and stir. Cover and let sit for about 8 hours or overnight.
- After about 8 hours, pour in the oil to fill the jar. Pour into the blender and blend until you feel a little heat coming from the blender, just a few minutes. Pour back into the jar. Cover, label, and put into a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks. Once in awhile shake your oil infusion.
- After about 6-8 weeks, use a cheesecloth to strain the lemon balm out of the olive oil. Make sure you squeeze all of the oil out of the herbs. Store in a dark jar or bottle for up to a year.
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