Knowledge Share Description

During our time together we will be discussing the various methods of extracting botanical potential from plant matter, researching your source material, intro to FDA GRAS, financial and seasonal upsides to utilizing alcohol as a preservative, considerations therein, and trusting yourself/your body. Historically, distillation and infusion have been used as methods for pulling the essence from plants, for extending a product past it's natural growing season, for coaxing flavors, health benefits, and potency from leaves/fruits. It's an ancient practice and one that still serves us well today. I engage with this on a daily basis through my business making botanical blackcurrant liqueur, as well as in my home life as a way to utilize garden surplus. The more that we can be conversant in simple ways of preservation, the more agriculturally independent and resilient we can be. The more we can actually get from the plants that we cultivate and work with (or that others do and provide). These are methods that can be used for health, to circumvent waste, and to generally bring joy during the slower growing months.

Knowledge Share Includes

• Explore practical and research methodologies of extracting botanical potential from plant matter

• Intro to FDA GRAS (Food & Drug Administration, Generally Recognized As Safe)

• Explore the financial and seasonal upsides to utilizing alcohol as a preservative

• Using your intuition in business and botanical distillation

• Recipe for a winter health tonic using blackcurrants and botanicals

Cost

$35 - BIPOC or low income

$75 - standard or reparations (If you have financial abundance, this is our pay-it-forward option to fund our full tuition scholarships)

The zoom link will be sent 1-2 days prior to the knowledge share. Recording will be available for 30 days.

For scholarships please email info@herbancura.com with subject Botanical Spirits

Accessibility Information

*ASR (automated) captioning provided

*Live captioning & ASL interpretation may be available with advance notice

*Spanish interpretation may be available with advance notice (Si requiere interpretacion por favor mande un email a info@herbancura.com)

Virtual Gathering

Zoom link will be sent out via email 1-2 days before knowledge share

2:00pm - 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time

Class will be recorded and available for 30 days.

Facilitator

Rachael Petach has spent her life at the intersection of art, food, and agriculture. She has worked in hospitality for more than half her life (notably Chez Panisse, Andrew Tarlow Collective, Salad for President) both front of house and back of house. After a stint living in Madrid Spain where she ran a pop-up restaurant out of her apartment on Tirso de Molina, she spent time WOOFing in France. She holds a degree from UC Berkeley and worked with the student organic gardening association as well as on urban farming initiatives in the bay area. Rachael has produced countless events at the intersection of art and food as well as founding the artist residency program at Wythe Hotel which focuses on elevating Black, queer and trans voices. She was also recently the programming/events consultant for Hudson-based South Front Street, with dynamic spaces opened or opening in Hudson and Catskill (Kitty’s, The Caboose, Mr. Cat). In 2020 she launched her own business, Current Cassis, which focuses on making botanical blackcurrant liqueur from Hudson Valley grown blackcurrants, wild local honey, and botanicals. She can be found at www.ccassis.com & @currentcassis.