Did you know: How are oils made?

The plant press, used for extracting oils such as olive oil.

        I did not realize it at the time but the first time my wife rubbed down my shoulders after a day in the field with her dandy oil I was doing the exact same thing as our ancestors. An easy recipe that works wonders is simply to infuse olive oil with dandelions in the sunlight. A processes used as far back as the Romans. 

        Kayla's dandy oil was not my first experience with the power of natural wellness. We had used the essential oils for a while by then. It was not even the first helpful apothecarial concoction she created. It is the first however we did from start to finish the same as a roman farmer would have so you know it is near and dear to my heart.   

        Today we are lucky. When I need an oil I hop online and order some up and in a few days it is at my door in an easy pour bottle. Back in the old-old days it took a lot more work to get the oils you needed for those special recipes. 

Enfluerage, the process of extracting essential oils using animal fat and alcohol.

        The oldest method of extracting oil I can find recorded comes from Egypt. And that is no surprise. Early Egyptian culture incorporated perfume in to every aspect of their life, and death. Some of these earliest techniques would have been costly and time consuming and honestly a little gross.

        The Egyptians have the oldest record of a method called Enfleurage. They would put the plaint in animal fat and leave it in the sun to absorb the volatile compounds. The oil is extracted from the fat using alcohol.  Then they would boil off the alcohol and collect the absolute that is left. This method is still in use today but less often as a lot of other faster less gross ways are available.

Zosimus of Panopolis is credited with inventing distillation.

        Egypt brought us another method that is more poplar today. An Egyptian alchemist named

Zosimus of Panopolis is credited with inventing distillation. He would use steam to separate the oil from the plant and separated the oil from the vapor. The process is a lot more complicated and a lot more refined today than it was back then but it is still the same basic science behind the process.

        I am sure we can all think of what the most popular extraction method is though. The press has been seen throughout all cultures and is the earliest extraction method I can find. Again just as with all the other techniques over time it has become more complicated and more refined but the gist of it is the same. You squeeze the plant until the juices come out.

Solvent extraction creates scents used in perfumes.

        There is a newer method that I have found called solvent extraction. From what I can tell it is cheaper and easier than all the other methods and a favorite amongst perfumers. Really though this method is only suitable for a perfumer as the oils are extracted using harsh chemicals and make the oil unfit for human consumption. I think it is funny how the only modern method will not create a pure oil.

         It seems that we have had a connection with plants from the beginning of our civilizations. From the beginning we have experimented with and explored uses for these gifts from nature. Not just in what plant heals what ailment but in how to get the most out of the plant.       

Thank you for reading. Until next time be well,

Robert