Practical Tips to Store Your Herbal Ingredients

Herbal ingredients can be in the form of spices such as turmeric, galangal, kencur (aromatic ginger, Kaempferia galangal), kunci (finger root), and nutmeg. You may store these ingredients in a dry place that is not exposed to direct sunlight. After you buy the ingredients, immediately remove them from the packaging and place it in a bin or the like without washing it. Just use enough of them every time. When you want to use the ingredients, you should clean them thoroughly.

For example, you should clean ginger (zingiberis rhizoma) in running water. After cleaning, dry the material completely. You may dry it under direct sunlight. So that the water content evaporates completely. When you want to make a jamu, you need to slice these ingredients ​​so that its properties can dissolve in the water easily. Even though it is dry, the sliced ingredients are still need to be washed before you brew a jamu. This is to ensure that the raw materials are free from dust and mildew.

In addition to spices, there are also herbal ingredients in the form of leaves, such as lime leaves, salam (Indonesian bay leaves, Syzygium polyanthum), pandan (screwpine), and serai (lemongrass). You need to store these ingredients away from the stove, because if exposed to the heat, they will easily wither, change shape and color. Store them in the refrigerator and be sure to clean them beforehand. Meanwhile, limes and other types of oranges can also be stored in the refrigerator or outside.

Homemade jamu should be consumed immediately considering their short shelf life, so that their properties are not lost due to contamination from microbes or fungi. But if you want to store them, store it in a tightly closed bottle or container. Jamu brew can be stored at room temperature, and can also be stored in the refrigerator to make them more long-lasting and, even, more refreshing. Just like a glass of iced jamu beras kencur in a hot day. What a drink!