Let’s say you’re making a tincture out of some grass or berries or flowers or bark or whatever that seems to fix your headache really well. It tastes kinda gross but you’ve figured out how to steep it in boiling water then simmer it down into a syrup that you can throw back as one quick gulp.
You gotta be careful with the strength though, you’ve noticed that if you boil it too long you (or your patient) start bruising a bunch and their cuts bleed for a really long time or one or two might even have died. Alternately, steeping / simmering too long might actually cook off whatever substance you need and make it weaker.
It’s not too hard to get the volumes consistent batch-to-batch, you just use the same measuring vessel every time or the same counter weights on your scale, but the timing is difficult. You need to steep then simmer it for the same amount of time each time to produce consistent results. This is, say 500 B.C. or so (or any other time period in history where stovetop timers aren’t really a thing)–
–so you sing a little song or prayer or poem while you stir. It takes you roughly the same amount of time to recite it each time, so you know you’ll be getting roughly the same strength each time. Another option is you can burn a candle with a metal weight stuck through the wax at a given height then wait for it to clatter onto the metal plate you’ve got it set on.
You might even write down these measurements and which song has the right length or what type of candle burns as the right speed. Then when the judge in town wants your dead husband’s land and is mad that you told his wife that other dudes have no problem making their wives orgasm they’ll raid your house, find your recipe book, and use it as evidence at your trial before burning you for witchcraft.
Let’s say you’re making a tincture out of some grass or berries or flowers or bark or whatever that seems to fix your headache really well. It tastes kinda gross but you’ve figured out how to steep it in boiling water then simmer it down into a syrup that you can throw back as one quick gulp.
You gotta be careful with the strength though, you’ve noticed that if you boil it too long you (or your patient) start bruising a bunch and their cuts bleed for a really long time or one or two might even have died. Alternately, steeping / simmering too long might actually cook off whatever substance you need and make it weaker.
It’s not too hard to get the volumes consistent batch-to-batch, you just use the same measuring vessel every time or the same counter weights on your scale, but the timing is difficult. You need to steep then simmer it for the same amount of time each time to produce consistent results. This is, say 500 B.C. or so (or any other time period in history where stovetop timers aren’t really a thing)–
–so you sing a little song or prayer or poem while you stir. It takes you roughly the same amount of time to recite it each time, so you know you’ll be getting roughly the same strength each time. Another option is you can burn a candle with a metal weight stuck through the wax at a given height then wait for it to clatter onto the metal plate you’ve got it set on.
You might even write down these measurements and which song has the right length or what type of candle burns as the right speed. Then when the judge in town wants your dead husband’s land and is mad that you told his wife that other dudes have no problem making their wives orgasm they’ll raid your house, find your recipe book, and use it as evidence at your trial before burning you for witchcraft.
Best of luck!