How to boil Chinese medicine without a casserole

People who often drink Chinese medicine usually boil it, and they often choose a casserole. But how to boil Chinese medicine without a casserole? In fact, in addition to casseroles, you can also use stainless steel pots, enamel pots, glass pots, etc., as long as they are not iron pots or copper pots. It’s just that different containers will have different effects on the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine, so it is better to buy a clay pot to cook it. This kind of pot is easy to buy and the price is not very high.

Is it necessary to use a casserole to decoct medicine?

When decocting Chinese medicine, it is very important to choose the utensils. Casserole pots and earthenware jars are the first choice for boiling medicine. Next are enamelware and stainless steel pots. It is most taboo to use iron and copper pots.

The chemical properties of casseroles and earthenware pots are stable, they heat evenly, transfer heat slowly, and the water is not easy to evaporate when decocting medicine. It has fast heat transfer, slow heat dissipation and strong heat preservation ability. Generally, the food in the casserole can still maintain a near-boiling temperature 5 to 10 minutes after the fire is turned off. The casserole can transfer external heat energy to the internal ingredients in a balanced and lasting manner. The relatively balanced ambient temperature is conducive to the mutual penetration of water molecules and food, which can maximize the release of food flavor. Suitable for slow cooking over low heat.

Stainless steel pots transfer heat too quickly, so you need to stir the medicine frequently when decocting it, otherwise the herbs will stick to the wall of the pot and easily get stuck if you are not careful.

Chinese medicine experts remind everyone to pay special attention and never use iron or copper pots to decoct medicine. Because iron and copper are active elements, they easily react with the various chemical components in traditional Chinese medicine and produce toxic side effects.

Comparison between traditional decoction and microwave decoction

Many people wonder whether using a microwave to heat the medicine will affect the effectiveness of the medicine. The answer is no. Chinese medicine in machine-fried bags heated in a microwave oven can also be taken safely. This is because the principle of microwave oven heating food is not based on heat transfer, but on the constantly changing magnetic field generated by microwave oscillations to cause the water molecules in the liquid medicine to oscillate and generate heat, thereby heating the liquid medicine.

During the entire process of heating food, no chemical reaction occurs, so the effective ingredients in the medicine solution are basically in a stable state and will not affect the efficacy of the medicine.

For thousands of years, people have been taking Chinese medicine at home using clay pots, earthenware jars, pottery, and enamelware. Self-decocted Chinese medicine can determine the decoction time, soaking time, and water consumption for the first and second decoctions according to the characteristics of the different drug components in each prescription, so as to ensure that the maximum proportion of effective ingredients is decocted and prevent the loss of ingredients caused by mis-decoction;

Furthermore, the inner walls of traditional ceramic medicine pots and casseroles are rough, with many pores and textures, which can easily absorb various medicinal ingredients and cause odor. They are difficult to clean and easily become sticky. What is more troublesome is that in order to ensure that the medicine is heated evenly and prevent sticky ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pot, stirring is generally required during the decoction process, so someone must be on hand to supervise it, otherwise the medicine may easily overflow, burn, or crack if not handled with care.

Moreover, these household medicine decoction utensils have uniform heat conduction, stable chemical properties, will not chemically react with the effective ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, the medicine pot has good heat preservation and small water evaporation. However, in order to correctly determine the decocting time and amount of water when decocting Chinese medicine at home, one must have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge, which is not something that ordinary people can do.

How to calculate the time for decoction

Starting from the time the water boils, there are three situations:

1. It is a heat-clearing and dispersing drug used to treat acute febrile diseases, wind-cold caused by the four seasons, and wind-heat diseases.

After the first decoction starts boiling, simmer over medium to high heat for 15 to 20 minutes. After the second decoction starts boiling, simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Used as conditioning drugs to treat common chronic diseases, such as spleen and stomach diseases, organ dysfunction, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. The first decoction should be simmered on medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes after boiling, and the second decoction should be simmered for another 15 to 20 minutes after boiling.

3. Tonic medicines used to treat wasting diseases, such as qi deficiency, blood deficiency, kidney deficiency and other types of wasting diseases. The first decoction should be simmered on low heat for about 30 to 40 minutes after boiling, and the second decoction should be simmered for another 20 to 30 minutes after boiling.