SC - Hello out there.

[Tollhase1@aol.com]

OK, speaking chemically, the simplest way to extract the essential oils from
plant matter with alcohol-cold distillation.
Take a columnar vessel with a hile in the bottom.
Place a piece of filter paper in the bottom, pack to the top with plant
matter[dried prefferably, that way you dont have to extract the water from the
oil.]
Put a vessel under the fractioning column.
Pour alcohol in the top, let it drain down into the bottom, repeatedly.
{this is where I would personnally get a couple lengths of tygon tubing and a
rotoflex pump, but i am, lazy...}

Voila, cold distilled oil of whatever in a neutral alcohol base.
The exact same stuff can be gotten by placing the plant matter in a gallon jug of
vodka and letting it sit around for a couple of days, shaking it occasionally
then filtering the solid bits out. That is SCA cordialmaking. This is legal, even
per BATF.

You can steam distill with legally purchased alcohol[the batf only cares that the
cvarious taxes are paid on the stuff when you get it from the package store.]
If you really want to know how to steam distill I would be happy to tell you, but
as i dont like to do it, i dont feel like describing it, other than it takes the
making of equipment.

The bain marie/bagne maria or hot water method of extracting oils

You take a clay vessel, or metal vessel or glass vessel constructed particularly.

It must be constructed with the lid fitting onto a lip that extends in rather
than out. think of the draining rack that fits into a wok-a circular piece that
sets on the curve of the wok on the inside and allows whatever on it to drain
back into the wok.

what you do is put the water in the bottom of this pot, and the herbs to be
extractred in the rim. you seal the lid on and place it on a very mellow burner,
so that the water steams and yet the lid is still cool enough to allow the water
to condense and drip ofer the herbs, and the warm water very gently extracts the
plant oils out of the plants. after replacing the plant matter several times, so
you have a good film of oil on the water, place the water  mixture in a tall
narrow cylinder and use an eyedropper to lift the oil off of the top, or if you
use a vessel like the defatting measuring cups, where the spout opens deep in the
liquid so you can pour off the good cooking liquids without getting the fat, in
this case you would be pouring off the water to keep the oil.

There are some times in herbal medicine where you would first do a water extract
and then an alcohol extract, evaporate the alcohol and then combine it with the
other stuff, some components being water soluable and some components being
alcohol soluable


To the best of my knowledge, rose flower water is the warm water method as if i
taste the stuff in my little cobalt blue bottle, i get teh taste of roses, and no
alcohol evaporatinmg effect, and no alcohol taste. put on a sugar cube it does
not ignite, and heated in a small spoon bowl it will not ignite. It does require
iirc to be at least 40% alcohol to ignite, and most of the wines i have just
tried to light do not burn, and the zippiest one is 13% alcohol by volume, but my
brandy at 48% alcoohol by volume burns nicely when heated[ok, so i just made
myself coffee brule, but it was an experiment for the good of mankind, not
because it seemed like the thing to do at the time, homest!]

margali

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