Making Essential Oils at Home with My DIY Distiller - Mint Oil & Hydrosol

[@CANADIANDRUMMER-j-u2x]

Very interesting, Great Lakes! I thought this would be quite complicated, but it's actually much simpler than imagined.

[@GreatLakesPrepping]

Thanks Joe. A bit resource and time-consuming, but otherwise pretty simple in principle.

[@jamescady723]

Fascinating. Very simple and straight-forward. Very helpful! I read that thyme hydrosol is a good antimicrobial, great for cleaning.

[@davirodrigues8426]

And now thanks to you, I have a use for that ancient pressure cooker I inherited. And now also thanks to you, I have another project added to my "To Do" list. As if that wasn't already long enough

[@AdrianLongo]

Love the way you built up the condensor with the strip and zip ties

[@gabriellegjonaj2559]

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@Beautiful_girl2.0]

Mint hydrosol, also known as peppermint hydrosol, has many uses, including: Skincare: Mist onto your face, neck, and chest to balance your skin's pH and give it a glow. You can also mix it with a facial serum for hydration. Haircare: Spritz onto your hair and scalp. Muscle and joint pain: Spray directly onto sore muscles and joints. Baths and foot soaks: Add to your bath or foot soak. Clay masks: Add to clay masks instead of water. Mouthwash: Spritz directly into your mouth after a meal. Hydrosols are aromatic waters that are created by steam-distilling herbs.

[@Beautiful_girl2.0]

Aromatic waters, also known as hydrosols, can be used in a variety of ways including: adding a subtle flavor to drinks and culinary dishes, using as a facial toner in skincare routines, creating a calming atmosphere in aromatherapy by diffusing or misting, and even as a gentle cleanser for the skin;

[@MattTransit]

Brilliant. Thanks for sharing that pressure cooker distillation information. Back in the early '80's I tried making a still using a pressure cooker and some copper tubing. I made what I thought was a decent corn mash a week or so before putting it in the cooker. It didn't work out too well. It didn't explode or anything like that, my fermented mash mixture simply stunk up the house in the middle of Summer. My folks and sisters weren't too pleased.

[@cindypatterson8157]

Haha...at lease you had a go...keep playing 😊

[@laurenragle5228]

I'm an organic chemist and in my lab, we use a "fancy" steam distillation set up with lemon peels to extract lemon essential oil (limonene). I've read some cool benefits of lemon hydrosol, too. Anyway, you might want to play with lemon peels in your set up, since you might be using the rest of the lemon in cooking. 😊

[@GreatLakesPrepping]

Thanks Lauren, lemon is definitely one I've thought about trying. I bet you all have some awesome equipment to work with!

[@ShanghaiQIYUIndustrialCompanyM]

I'm sure your lab-derived lemon essential oil is very good🥳. But do you need better distillation and laboratory equipment🤔?

[@laurenragle5228]

@@ShanghaiQIYUIndustrialCompanyM not necessarily, no. If you can heat it enough and trap the oil vs hydrosol. 🤷‍♀️

[@ShanghaiQIYUIndustrialCompanyM]

@@laurenragle5228 Okay, I see😄. I also wanted to try this interesting experiment, after all, the leftover lemons can be used in the cooking process🥳.

[@moringa3820]

A lot of effort, it's worth the effort. Thanks for sharing this.

[@chrissheffield5468]

Great video! Thank you.

[@Debbie13399]

😮interesting 🎉 I’m keen

[@Ilgrandecigo]

Nice video, thanks!

[@thomasfrazier77]

I don't have any fresh peppermint can I use dried peppermint leaves?

[@swandiedrich]

Love the video. Have you thought about just pre-freezing a tupperware container to make a large block of ice for longer cooling times?

[@mathewweeks9069]

Awesome video you rock

[@GreatLakesPrepping]

Thanks Matthew

[@cindypatterson8157]

Great video...what would you use the water for ? Thanks 😊

[@GreatLakesPrepping]

Thank you. A lot of people use the mint hydrosol for all sorts of things. Some people drink it because it's said to be good for digestion. Some spray it on their skin to relieve itching. Some people just spritz it around their home as a natural air freshener. Personally, the thing I use it for the most is as a natural insect repellent. I actually spray it all around my outdoor cooking area to keep the flies and bees away while I'm out there. They do not care for the smell, but it smells very nice to me.

[@saboteisaac]

Woow i like it so much so how much are th prices of all the material plz

[@thomastevelde8547]

I remember my mentor telling me about mint stills in Michigan

[@thomastevelde8547]

Looking for historical mint oil production

[@itseithergonnaworkoritaint7852]

Great video but what is hydrosol?

[@GreatLakesPrepping]

Hydrosol is just the mint-infused (in this case) water that's leftover after I separate the oil out of it.

[@itseithergonnaworkoritaint7852]

@@GreatLakesPrepping Thanks, so mint flavored water? Cool.

[@BamboozledUS]

Pondering this process.... If you're just going to boil the leaves directly IN the water, (as opposed to boiling water under a rack that holds the leaves separate from the water, allowing steam to pass through the leaves) maybe you don't need this distillation process. Just boil it, separate off the water, then pour into your oil separator and allow it to cool. Seems like it would garner the same amount of oil. ?

[@GreatLakesPrepping]

While steam distillation (using a rack to hold the leaves above the water) would improve this process - particularly with certain spices or plants - it's still advantageous over doing it how you described. First, if you use your idea, you need to start with distilled water (like, buy distilled water at the store, or make your own with a distiller). Because the distillation process does more than just heat the mint leaves; it's separating and leaving behind all manner of impurities and other junk you don't want in your final product. Second, from what I've read online, your idea takes much longer. I've seen articles that advise leaving the leaves steeping in the water for weeks before the oil is fully extracted. With distillation, it's obviously much quicker.

[@saboteisaac]

Iam making tooth wash out of Neem leaves so iam need of the machine