Cucumber and Rose Hydrosol

This may seem like an odd pair for a distillate, but it worked beautifully. Today, I’m going to walk you through the steps I took to make this hydrosol.

Combining Raw Materials in a Distillate

Mixing ingredients like this is called co-distilling. There are really no rules for co-distillation. You can mix as many different things as you please. A colleague of mine combines both herbs/plants and fruits/vegetables to create stunning results. If you forage for ingredients, it can be a great way to make use of smaller amounts, but co-distillation also allows you to maximise the synergy of the ingredients you are working with.

This particular combo came about quite by chance actually. As I was preparing to make a cucumber hydrosol last summer (while still in Denmark), my lovely neighbour (who knew I both love and use roses for my skincare) popped by with a small basketful of freshly picked roses from their garden. It was a mix of different kinds of roses and the total amount was as you see above. They were quickly incorporated into my distillate.

Small Batch Preparation

This distillation (as all of my previous ones) was made in my Air Still. Preparation of the raw materials is pretty much the same as it is for making your own glycerites; use quality (organically grown) ingredients in prime condition. Discard any bits that are damaged.

For this small batch (about 500 ml yield), I used 2 cucumbers and a handful of roses.

Even though I use organic, I remove some peel from the cucumbers. This is just my preference - you don’t have to remove the peel. I got into the habit of removing the peel from cucumbers when cooking (they are generally more bitter tasting than the flesh) and this just carried over to my distillation.

Layering Ingredients

For this distillation, I placed the heaviest ingredients on the bottom. This isn’t a rule — you can combine and layer any way you like. I have had success placing heavy slices of pineapple on top of a bed of light herbs as well as the other way around.

Pictured below, cucumber in place, ready for roses and then my ‘copper birds nest’ on top before placing the lid on.

For details on the still and all the bits I use (and how I have modified them), please see this post.

How the Hydrosol Turned Out

Both the function and fragrance of this hydrosol turned out as a lovely marriage of rose and cucumber - The fragrance was not easy to distinguish as either one ingredient or the other. It was both fresh and floral - and it felt both refreshing and soothing to use. As the liquid matured, so did the fragrance. This is one hydrosol that got compliments from my husband every time I used it.

Do Tell

Have you ever combined ingredients to make a hydrosol? Which were your favorites?

Check below for more posts about hydrosols and distillates on this blog

Dandelion Distillate

Pictured above is a peek at one of my latest hydrosols, made within hours of picking the plants. Who would have imagined dandelions could be transformed into a fabulously refreshing all natural skin mist?

The idea of distilling them presented itself while I was walking past a field of fresh sunny blossoms (read: the dandelions made me do it).

The result has been such a success that I have been scouring the local parks, fields, and green areas for additional fresh botanicals to try.

If you’re curious about making your own distillates/hydrosols, check the blog post links below. There’s also a blow by blow description of how I set up and use my handy little still in the post called ‘Working with an Air Still to make Hydrosols”.

Handcrafted Mint Hydrosol

Last summer, my lovely neighbors (who have a lovely garden) asked me to water their plants while they were on holiday. I was of course happy to oblige and as a thank you, they told me to feel free to pick any fruits or plants that I might like.

On the corner of the patio was a large potted mint that I mentioned would be lovely to try and make a distillate with, but that it would take more than a few sprigs.

“Oh heavens help yourself to the whole thing if you like - these grow like wildfire and we never use them all”

As it turned out, I didn’t need ‘the whole thing’ to make almost liter of hydrosol. MInt distillate is incredibly refreshing as a summer face mist, but it has also functioned beautifully as a body mist as well.

Upon returning from their vacation, I presented them with a small selection of handcrafted hydrosols (and mint was included)

I only recently finished this batch which was made in July last year. Happily, it won’t be too terribly long until the mint in my own garden will be popping up so I can get busy with a new batch.

Do Tell

Do you make your own hydrosols? Which plants are your favorites to distill?

TIP. If you make your own hydrosols, try adding a generous splash of mint hydrosol to your next foot bath for a luxuriously cooling treat.

Create Your Own Bath Products With Essential Oils

Working with an Air Still to Make Hydrosols

A lot of you have asked me how I use my Air Still to make hydrosols. Today, I’m going to show you the tools I use, the modifications I have made to them, and then walk you through the process of making this lemon distillate.

The Still itself is described (and pictured) in detail in this post.

Extra Tools

Pictured below is my collection of additional tools used in combination with the still.

The rings on the upper left are stainless steel baking rings bought from a professional chef’s suppliers. I stack these rings to create a raised ‘platform’ for the modified vegetable steamer pictured on the top right. The copper wire ‘birds nest’ is placed on top of the herbs before placing the lid on.

These are the only ‘extras’ I use.

Steamer Modifications

The vegetable steamer is a typical, widely available stainless steel little number that was purchased in a kitchen supplier shop. It did need a couple of modifications, which became necessary after making my first batch of distillate and discovering parts of the steamer had become discolored and were impossible to clean.

My modifications have been to remove all non-stainless steel parts and replace relevant bits with stainless steel. (I better come clean about who did the actual modifications: it was my tool wielding husband). I was close at hand to document the process.

The original handle that was in the center (the stick with the ring) was replaced with a (sanitisable) stainless steel screw. This was ‘merely’ a question of hunting around in a hardware store for the right type and size of screw.

There were also 3 ‘legs’ on the steamer that looked positively gunky after their first exposure to heat and steam.

These were removed by being drilled out.

Why is this important?

Because unidentified metal of any type can leach impurities into the hydrosol (and for that matter into steamed vegetables).

Below are the 3 legs after being drilled out of the body.

Having a steamer without legs is a non-issue for my needs, so this steamer has 3 extra holes in the bottom plate.

Now, let’s make this batch!

Here is a peek into the body of the Air Still. The rings are stacked to create a raised space on which the steamer is placed.

Note the water level is below the top ring. This is quite on purpose. The idea is for the steam to go through the raw material. If the water level is too high, the raw material risks getting ‘cooked’.

Obviously, the yield is going to be less than if you could just fill the body to the brim, but I have had quality results with this method and find doing more frequent and smaller batches is suitable for my needs.

As soon as the steamer is placed in the body, the ‘layering’ of the raw material begins. I like using approximately the top third of the still for the plants.

This distillate includes zest, leaves and meat of lemons that is layered until there is still a bit of room at the top for the final positioning of the copper wire birds nest.

The ‘birds nest’ is simply stripped speaker wire that is ‘hand shaped’ into a disc that is placed at the top. The addition of copper has made a tangible difference in my hydrosols. While the first distillate was completely free of copper and turned out quite nicely, there was an undertone of ‘metal’ that I found less than ideal.

After adding this element of copper, I find the fragrance has been ‘rounder’, ‘fuller’ and ‘richer’ with no metal undertones at all.

With the copper in place, the lid is locked onto the base, then the unit is plugged in and allowed to do its work until the batch is ready.

Below is the yield of this batch: a total of half a liter (500 ml).

There is an ever so slight amount of essential oil visible at the top of the container - not enough to separate from the hydrosol, but definitely there.

The fragrance and feel of this distillate was a real treat to use. I am a huge fan of citrus fragrances, and this functioned as a morning skin mist as long as it lasted.

The lemons I used for this batch: organic lemons from the Amalfi Coast of Italy - purchased in my local supermarket.

Do Tell

Do you make your own hydrosols? Which kind of still do you use?

PS: handcrafted distillates can be used as the water phase of emulsions for a beautifully fragrant and skin-pampering cream or lotion.

An Introduction to Natural Cosmetic Emulsions - Hand-Stirred Lotions and Creams

Handcrafted Wild Rose Hydrosol

Last year, I bought an air-cooled still and fell in love with the process of making my own hydrosols with wildcrafted and homegrown herbs and botanicals.

Here’s a peek at a wild rose distillate made with foraged rose petals. This was a pretty small batch as it wasn’t until ‘late-ish’ in the season that I realized the wild roses were in bloom. This year, I’ll be counting the days until I can go foraging on the beachfronts of Denmark, where these lovely plants are plentiful.

Check my still here.

Do Tell

Do you make your own hydrosols? Which kind of still do you use?

Spring Plant Planning

As I anxiously await the onset of Spring here in Copenhagen, I find myself making notes about which plants I want to focus on this year for distillates, extracts, powders, infusions, decoctions. There are also several pages with notes on which plants I want to use fresh. The to-do list is already quite long, but I guess that can’t be much of a surprise to anyone.

The cleavers have been popping up in a few select spots I have been keeping an eye on and they may just be the first plants to be picked and processed this year.

Meantime, here’s a throwback to last year when I did my first distillate with locally grown (and foraged) goldenrod. The result was happily a success and I used the hydrosol as the water phase in this emulsion (which was also a success). Goldenrod has a lovely honey-like fragrance that blends beautifully with citrussy fragrances. I’ve mixed it with my lemon distillate as well as my pineapple distillate – every spritz is a real treat for both nose and skin.

Do Tell

Do you mix your hydrosols to create skin mist blends? Which are your favorites?

Some of the formulas in the book below include infusions as part of the water phase, but could easily be replaced with your own hydrosols. Click the picture below to find out more.

An Introduction to Natural Cosmetic Emulsions - Hand-Stirred Lotions and Creams