Recipes

Herb/Flower Infused Oil
Note:  Ingredients will make approx. 1 1/2 quarts of oil and the amount of fresh botanicals will vary depending on how strong of a fragrance you would like your end results to be.


Equipment and ingredients
2 Wide Mouth Quart Canning Jar
Weight (another glass jar, glass paper weight, etc.) optional to press down botanicals and keep them submerged
Tight fitting lid
Funnel
Cheese Cloth
Decorative bottles with tight seal

Approximately ¼ pound of fresh, clean organic herbs and/or flowers (botanicals) of your choice
32 oz (1 Quart) Sweet Almond Oil
8 oz (1 Cup) Sunflower Oil
6 oz (3/4 Cup) Carrier Oil of choice – I recommend Apricot
1 ounce Wheat Germ Oil
1 ounce Vitamin E Oil

 Fill one of the canning jars with fresh clean organic herbs and/or flowers (botanicals) of your choice (make sure to be alert to allergies.)  Then pour Sweet Almond Oil over the botanicals until they are completely covered and seal the jar.  Make sure none of the herbs or flowers have floated to the top or they will mold.  If necessary you may weigh the botanicals down with a smaller jar or something nonporous and nonmetallic and then seal.   Keep the mixture in a warm dry area away from direct sunlight for approximately 1 week.   

Place a doubled piece of cheese cloth in the funnel making a filter and place funnel over the second canning jar.  Open the 1st jar with infused oil and remove any large pieces of botanicals from the oil.  Gently pour the oil through the cheese cloth lined funnel, removing the solids from the oil.  What should be in the 2nd canning jar is your clear fragranced Sweet Almond Oil.  If you would like a stronger fragrance you can repeat the above steps until you get the desired strength.

Once you have the strength of fragrance you desire add the sunflower oil, Apricot oil (or other oil of choice,) Wheat Germ Oil and Vitamin E oil; blend well.  Using the clean funnel pour your mixture into decorative bottles and seal tightly.  The Vitamin E oil and Wheat Germ Oil will give your product at least a month or two shelf life (if not much longer) provided you store it away from direct sunlight in a cool dry area.

If you would like to add a few drops of essential oils to your mixture for additional fragrance you can do that prior to blending the oils.

Rose Beads
At least 1 large grocery bag full of freshly picked rose petals (the more fragrance the better)
Water
Optional, Essential or fragrant oils (make sure the fragrant oil is as good as the natural scent of the rose)
A blender
A large pot (preferably cast iron to give it the traditional black look but it can be stainless)
A wood spoon that you will probably not want to use for food again because things will taste like rose.
Paper towels (lots of them)
A bowl
A large thick piece of Styrofoam
Large sewing needles, metal skewers or something to make the hole and stick them into the foam as they dry

1) Place as many rose petals that will fit with a little extra room into the blender. Add approximately
1/2 cup of water to 2 cups of petals and blend until pulpy (not completely smooth but without
very large pieces either.) Repeat until all of the petals are in a pulp.

2) Place the pulp into a large pan and heat until hot enough for the water to evaporate but not
boiling or at a point that the fragrance wafts away. Cook this until it is thick like clay. Allow to
cool enough to handle.

3) With several layers of paper towel sandwich some of the pulp between them and press out any
excess water. This is important to decrease the drying time but don’t make it so dry that it cracks
when you mold it. Do this with all the pulp until you are satisfied with the textured. Place the rose
clay into a bowl.

4) If you decide to add oils mix a few drops into the rose clay and knead until well mixed.

5) Roll a piece about the size of a marble until it is tight and holds together. Using
the needle or skewer pierce the center for the hole and to pin it to the Styrofoam to hold it up as
it dries. You can make bigger beads but they take much longer to dry. You can also use candy and
bead molds to make fancier shapes. Note if any crack or break as you pierce them to make the
hole, simply roll them again into a ball and reform them.

6) As a child I always allowed them to dry in the hot summer air, but it can take months for them to
completely dry. You can use an oven set at the lowest setting or a dehydrator to dry them. The
thing to remember is that they take a long time to dry even with the heat and it may not be worth
extra electric bill. If I could get mine to dry in the humid Midwest air most people should be able
to. Check them periodically turning the beads on the needles or metal skewers so they don't stick
to them.

7) The beads will be much smaller, dark in color and hard when they are dry. Once they are dry they
can be polished with some rose oil and a cloth or your fingers and made into whatever jewelry or
craft project you desire.

Rose Water
 When making Rose Water you can use a couple different methods. 
Simple Rose Water
Gather several cups of fresh highly fragrant rose petals that are relatively clean (Note that the roses should not be chemically treated or sprayed with pesticides before picking it could cause dangerous or undesirable reactions to your skin or even the mixture itself)
Place the rose petals in a jar or some other non-metallic container (plastic is not the best because it is porous will absorb the fragrance but can be used)
Cover the rose petals with distilled water until they are fully immersed but there is still a little room to shake the mixture.
Seal tightly and place in a warm dark place and allow the petals to set for a couple days.  Shake the mixture periodically and after about 3 days check the fragrance of the water.  If it is too weak you may repeat the steps above or add a few drops of rose essential oil.  Please note that while commercial mixtures will last indefinitely your homemade mixture will need to be refrigerated after a week or two because it may become rancid smelling if allowed to sit at room temperature for too long.

Rose Water
2 cups of Distilled Water
1/2 cup of Vodka (Vodka is a unscented alcohol that will draw the fragrance out of the petals.   Other alcohols will work but they will give you a strong odor that is why Vodka is suggested)
2 cups of fresh picked highly fragrant Rose Petals (I prefer red roses because it will tint the mixture pink but any color will work.  Also note that the roses should not be chemically treated or sprayed with pesticides before picking it could cause dangerous or undesirable reactions to your skin or even the mixture itself)
Rose Essential Oil (Only use a few drops if your mixture does not have the desired fragrance.  This is optional and you may not find it necessary.

Take the rose petals and using a very sharp knife (a dull knife will bruise and crush the petals) coarsely chop the petals in to large pieces (if you prefer you may skip this step and keep the petals whole.)  Place the cut (or whole) rose petals into a canning jar or other clear class container that can be sealed and cover with the Vodka and water.  Tightly seal the jar and place the jar a warm area where it will get direct sunlight.  Within a day or maybe even less the mixture will have a pink tint (if using red petals) and have a wonderful rose scent.  Strain the mixture through a doubled cheese cloth or coffee filter and place in a clean jar.  At this time if you feel you would like a stronger scent add a few drops of Rose Essential oil to the mixture, seal and shake.  Keep the  mixture in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.  Rose Water has many uses such as in your bath water or as a skin toner.


1 comment:

Ann Jones said...

I love making infused oil! Thanks for stopping by my blog, returning the favor :)