Village Distillation of Rose Otto

[Guest guest]

Hey Kathleen,

 

From 11 July ..

 

> > But they are not producing the Rose Otto folks in Aromatherapy would

> > want to use.

>

> Okay, why? Whats their end product like?

 

Because the heat is not controlled .. it is a direct fired copper vat

sitting on blocks with burning wood under it. The vat holds 20 kilos of

Rose Blossoms and 50 kilos of water .. really not enough water to keep

the Rose Blossoms from coming into contact with the heated bottom. The

odor is in no way equal to a hydrodistilled Rose Otto .. caramelized is

a good way to describe it.

 

The time required to distill depends on the heat and its never going to

be consistent. The vapors escape into tubing that goes though a water

trough .. that is the condensor. Then it drips into a gallon jug ..

that is the Florentine Flask. The oil is drawn off the hydrosol with a

syringe. The Hydrosol is much stronger than that coming from commerical

stills .. even after cohobation.

 

I have a gram of that oil .. it is POTENT!

 

> Who would use it then?

 

There are only four of these village distillers known in the area. This

old man has been at it for 50 plus years. He said he would produce 2.5

kilos this year and had two buyers .. I knew who one of them was as its

a well-known fact that one small distiller in Isparta buys this oil and

mixes it with his meager amount of hydrodistilled oils. The other one

was .. according to the old man .. an Arab who visited a few weeks prior

to my visit. This 2.5 kilos of Rose Oil will be more than sufficient

for his family's cash needs for the entire year .. otherwise he is a

subsistence farmer and I will admit that he had everything required to

lead the simple village life.

 

Throughout my stay they keep bringing various cool and warm refreshments

and of course, we were invited to eat. We all sat in a circle on the

floor around a raised table .. maybe 8-10 inches high. A kilim was put

under the table and each person put their bare feet under the kilim ..

one doesn't wear their shoes in village homes. Each dish of food was in

a single bowl or plate .. we had no plates but we each had a spoon and a

fork. Three types of bread were served .. fried, baked wheat bread and

pide .. the pide is used to wrap food items you take from the bowls or

plates. The menu was 3-4 different fresh green veggies, fried taters,

scrambled eggs with spices, chick peas, borek (similar to a Chinese egg

roll) and cucek (yoghurt with cucumbers and garlic). Dessert was fresh

plums and mulberries and watermelon. All of this was followed by a

super-nice, thick Turkish coffee.

 

I will send photos to the family .. that is important to them. Village

folks are the salt of the earth here .. the backbone of the country.

 

> Enquiring minds want to know....

 

Now you know. ;-p

 

> Cheers!

> Kathleen Petrides

> The Woobey Queen

> Woobeys: The Loving Touch Therapeutic Pillow

> http://www.woobeyworld.com

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com