Download 6.1-Hydrosols - Urban Moonshine Herb School

Hydrosols
Ranging in complexity from a full distillation to the simpler setup described below,
hydrosols are a great way to capture some of the volatile oils (mono- and sesquiterpenes, phenolic
compounds, alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones) and essential oils of plants. For obvious reasons,
theses are preparations best reserved for the more aromatic herbs (it would be relatively
fruitless, for example, to try a Dandelion leaf hydrosol), and they provide a wonderfully
light, clear impression of some of the most subtle and memorable qualities of the plants.
To prepare a simple, although rather dilute, hydrosol (still very effective, although
not as concentrated as a pure essential oil), you will need: A large pot (2 gallon) with a
snugly fitting lid, some waterproof tape, two bowls, and small bag of ice. Take the herb you
wish to distill, clean and garble it thoroughly, and chop it to a fine consistency. It may be a
good idea to dry it for a few days first, to allow the essential oils to concentrate; fresh herbs
work well too. Place one of the bowls upside-down in your big pot, then add the herb all
around it, and cover with water. Place the second bowl on top of the first, base-to-base, and
put the lid on the pot, again upside-down, so that the curvature of the lid points downward
into the second bowl. Seal the lid with tape, and place the bag of ice on the top of the whole
thing. This is your basic distillation setup: the idea is that, as the steam rises, it meets the
cool lid, condenses, and drips into the second bowl for collection. The essential oil, whose
constituents boil at a lower temperature than the water, will rise with the steam.
Now, apply a very gentle heat to the bottom of your distillation setup. It will take
several minutes before you hear the first ‘ping’ of water starting to simmer in the pot; at this
point, turn the heat down even further. If you have a clear glass lid (recommended), you
should be able to see little droplets forming on the underside of the lid and running (slowly,
at first) into the center. This process should continue for 10 of 15 minutes, perhaps more
depending on the amount of herb used, but not for too long, as the volatile oils tend to be
drawn off fairly quickly and further heat (and steam) only dilutes the hydrosol.
When you feel the time is right, turn off the heat, remove the distillation setup from
the burner, and allow it to cool for another 10 minutes. Then unseal it, take the top bowl
which should contain a fair amount of liquid, and drain it into a graduated cylinder or other
appropriate container. Place a cork or lid over this, and allow it to sit for a few hours. If you
want, you can then take a dropper and draw off the top of the liquid – this is where the
majority of the oils (which float on top of water) will be. However, it’s fine to use the
whole hydrosol too. Preserve this final product with 20% alcohol (meaning, add ¼ of the
volume of hydrosol in alcohol: 1 oz hydrosol, ¼ oz alcohol, etc…), keep it in the fridge to
avoid spoiling, or add it to a tincture or formula (see spagyrics, later).