Refrigeration and Otherwise Protecting Essential Oils

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I have found that when essential oils are in the same refridgerator as food you

can sometimes taste essential oils in the food, especially milk and juice

cartons! A mini fridge is quite useful. Hmmm, if I kept the coco essential oil

next to the milk carton, would I have chocolate milk?!

 

Kani

 

 

Butch Owen <butchbsi wrote:Hey Melanie,

 

> this is kinda off topic of this discussion... but my house is kinda hot, is it

a good

> idea to put my EO's in the refridgerator?? i've never heard of that. they

are in

> dark glass, in a box and in a dark room... but that room is kinda warm.

please

> advise.

 

Its not off discussion .. its right on the mark. See the below. Its a

modified post I have sent to this list many times.

 

> thanks ladies,

> melanie

 

How about gentlemen? None of that chauvinistic stuff here. ;-)

 

> p.s. did i mention i'm new, there will be lots of questions!

 

Good it is .. and I will disagree with what one writer posted .. that it

is wrong to overwhelm new folks with lots of information. When a

question is asked I (and many others) will take the writer to the

schoolhouse sometime because we want them to understand the concept ..

not just some facts in a vacuum.

 

If incorrect information is put out on this list .. I (and many others)

will do what we can to correct it. It matters not to me who puts out

the bad info .. or what marketing source they obtained it from .. there

will be NO BAD INFO put out on this list that is exempt from challenge.

Anyone who has thin skin should do more research to ensure they get it

right the first time .. or be prepared to have their words challenged.

Trying to justify a position to avoid losing face is not smart .. its

smarter to get smarter.

 

The reasons for the above are not personal .. they are because this list

is intended to be a place for learning .. not a place for dispensing

incorrect marketing information or harmful/unsafe use of natural

products .. and I (and many others) will not allow incorrect teaching to

be put out .. without challenge!

 

And .. when one is a seller of EO and they discuss Lavender or Rosemary

or Eucalyptus or Thyme .. or many other EO .. they need to indicate the

Type or Chemotype .. and the Botanical Name .. IF .. they wish to be

taken seriously. The chemical profiles are so different in these EO

that we can say they are completely different products with different

uses .. and Origin also tells us a lot .. tells us a lot about the

chemical profile and the value of the oil.

 

Off that soap box and back to your question. ;-)

 

> One more thing, I keep my EO's in the fridgerator because I had read

> they would keep fresh and potent longer.... Is this correct thinking?

 

Generally speaking .. its a good idea. Can't harm any of your EO by

refrigerating .. and some (like cold pressed Citrus, all " Blue " oils,

and Elemi (Canarium luzonicum) should ALWAYS be refrigerated.

 

But .. if we refrigerate some EO, Rose Otto (Rosa damascena) and Anise

Seed (Pimpinella anisum) come to mind now .. when we take them out we'll

find they have crystallized. Won't hurt them as they will come back to

their normal consistency/density when they warm up to room temperature.

 

Refrigeration slows down some chemical deterioration .. far less so for

the distilled oils than for cold pressed oils .. with some exceptions to

that statement too. Almost anything said in this industry will have an

exception or two .. and many things will have many exceptions because

the statements are wrong from the git go. ;-)

 

But .. lack of refrigeration is not as harmful for oils as is exposing

them to light and oxygen .. two things needed to sustain life .. and the

two things that age oils .. and human critters.

 

Y'all know how to protect your oils from light .. use colored glass

bottles .. and keep them in a dark place.

 

As for protecting them from oxygen .. the easiest thing is to keep the

tops on tight. Also .. if you are using large bottles you can pour the

oil into smaller bottles as you use it up .. this reduces the dead space

that oxygen creeps into. Two other ways to do this .. get a bottle of

the spray Nitrogen from a good wine shop .. this is good to top off the

larger bottles as nitrogen is heavier than oxygen and displaces it ..

and nitrogen is NOT harmful to ANY essential oil. " Nitrogen flushing "

is not easy to do for small bottles but something else we can do for the

small ones (besides switching to smaller bottles) is to drop pure glass

beads into them. That too will displace oxygen.

 

Where does one find these pure glass beads? I have an idea now because

one of the list members recently told me where to find them. We don't

use them in my company .. we use nitrogen flushing for our stock .. not

in the little bitty bottles .. but for our shelf stock.

 

So .. in addition to refrigerating oils .. we gotta keep the tops on

tight, keep'em out of sight .. and treat'em right by reducing exposure

to oxygen.

 

My statements above are not cutting edge or avant-garde .. they are

simply plain old common sense IF we understand the chemical processes

ongoing when heat, light or oxygen hits oils.

 

Since I began messing with EO (in 1995) I have seen few new questions

asked about them .. we continue to put out the same old fires and squash

the same old rumors. Rumors often created by instructors who quote

unreferenced " novels " written by writers quoting other unreferenced

" novels " .. and by the misinformation/disinformation and marketing hype

put out by some who wish to make an easy buck. The industry of AT

thrives on misinformation. Were it not so there would be a " Bible "

folks could turn to and get all the answers .. wouldn't need Newsgroups

like Oils & Herbs.

 

Actually, there is nothing really critical about most of the bad info

unless it is unsafe info .. but the situation we have created in AT does

much to ensure that AT is never validated .. never accepted as a viable

alternative mode of self treatment.

 

One can talk or write on Aromatherapy and rarely be wrong as there are

no universal " truths " in AT .. plus there are many ways to skin the cat

when using EO .. and things that work for some don't work for others.

But when one speaks or writes on Essential Oils its no longer in the

realm of personal opinion .. they gotta do a bit of research or they

gonna be challenged by them whut have done it.

 

I have no intention of ever devoting time to writing a book on EO or AT

because they are the least significant things I have done in my entire

life. I might write on some experiences I've had .. maybe Largemouth

Bass fishing or SCUBA or raising Bullfrogs or Bird Dawgs .. something

real important and interesting like that .. but never on AT or EO. But

I will never entitle my book " The Complete Book of Anything " .. I always

run away from books with such titles. ;-)

 

> Thanks

> XXXXXXXXXX

 

Yes'm .. welcome you are.

 

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

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Hey Melanie,

 

> this is kinda off topic of this discussion... but my house is kinda hot, is it

a good

> idea to put my EO's in the refridgerator?? i've never heard of that. they

are in

> dark glass, in a box and in a dark room... but that room is kinda warm.

please

> advise.

 

Its not off discussion .. its right on the mark. See the below. Its a

modified post I have sent to this list many times.

 

> thanks ladies,

> melanie

 

How about gentlemen? None of that chauvinistic stuff here. ;-)

 

> p.s. did i mention i'm new, there will be lots of questions!

 

Good it is .. and I will disagree with what one writer posted .. that it

is wrong to overwhelm new folks with lots of information. When a

question is asked I (and many others) will take the writer to the

schoolhouse sometime because we want them to understand the concept ..

not just some facts in a vacuum.

 

If incorrect information is put out on this list .. I (and many others)

will do what we can to correct it. It matters not to me who puts out

the bad info .. or what marketing source they obtained it from .. there

will be NO BAD INFO put out on this list that is exempt from challenge.

Anyone who has thin skin should do more research to ensure they get it

right the first time .. or be prepared to have their words challenged.

Trying to justify a position to avoid losing face is not smart .. its

smarter to get smarter.

 

The reasons for the above are not personal .. they are because this list

is intended to be a place for learning .. not a place for dispensing

incorrect marketing information or harmful/unsafe use of natural

products .. and I (and many others) will not allow incorrect teaching to

be put out .. without challenge!

 

And .. when one is a seller of EO and they discuss Lavender or Rosemary

or Eucalyptus or Thyme .. or many other EO .. they need to indicate the

Type or Chemotype .. and the Botanical Name .. IF .. they wish to be

taken seriously. The chemical profiles are so different in these EO

that we can say they are completely different products with different

uses .. and Origin also tells us a lot .. tells us a lot about the

chemical profile and the value of the oil.

 

Off that soap box and back to your question. ;-)

 

> One more thing, I keep my EO's in the fridgerator because I had read

> they would keep fresh and potent longer.... Is this correct thinking?

 

Generally speaking .. its a good idea. Can't harm any of your EO by

refrigerating .. and some (like cold pressed Citrus, all " Blue " oils,

and Elemi (Canarium luzonicum) should ALWAYS be refrigerated.

 

But .. if we refrigerate some EO, Rose Otto (Rosa damascena) and Anise

Seed (Pimpinella anisum) come to mind now .. when we take them out we'll

find they have crystallized. Won't hurt them as they will come back to

their normal consistency/density when they warm up to room temperature.

 

Refrigeration slows down some chemical deterioration .. far less so for

the distilled oils than for cold pressed oils .. with some exceptions to

that statement too. Almost anything said in this industry will have an

exception or two .. and many things will have many exceptions because

the statements are wrong from the git go. ;-)

 

But .. lack of refrigeration is not as harmful for oils as is exposing

them to light and oxygen .. two things needed to sustain life .. and the

two things that age oils .. and human critters.

 

Y'all know how to protect your oils from light .. use colored glass

bottles .. and keep them in a dark place.

 

As for protecting them from oxygen .. the easiest thing is to keep the

tops on tight. Also .. if you are using large bottles you can pour the

oil into smaller bottles as you use it up .. this reduces the dead space

that oxygen creeps into. Two other ways to do this .. get a bottle of

the spray Nitrogen from a good wine shop .. this is good to top off the

larger bottles as nitrogen is heavier than oxygen and displaces it ..

and nitrogen is NOT harmful to ANY essential oil. " Nitrogen flushing "

is not easy to do for small bottles but something else we can do for the

small ones (besides switching to smaller bottles) is to drop pure glass

beads into them. That too will displace oxygen.

 

Where does one find these pure glass beads? I have an idea now because

one of the list members recently told me where to find them. We don't

use them in my company .. we use nitrogen flushing for our stock .. not

in the little bitty bottles .. but for our shelf stock.

 

So .. in addition to refrigerating oils .. we gotta keep the tops on

tight, keep'em out of sight .. and treat'em right by reducing exposure

to oxygen.

 

My statements above are not cutting edge or avant-garde .. they are

simply plain old common sense IF we understand the chemical processes

ongoing when heat, light or oxygen hits oils.

 

Since I began messing with EO (in 1995) I have seen few new questions

asked about them .. we continue to put out the same old fires and squash

the same old rumors. Rumors often created by instructors who quote

unreferenced " novels " written by writers quoting other unreferenced

" novels " .. and by the misinformation/disinformation and marketing hype

put out by some who wish to make an easy buck. The industry of AT

thrives on misinformation. Were it not so there would be a " Bible "

folks could turn to and get all the answers .. wouldn't need Newsgroups

like Oils & Herbs.

 

Actually, there is nothing really critical about most of the bad info

unless it is unsafe info .. but the situation we have created in AT does

much to ensure that AT is never validated .. never accepted as a viable

alternative mode of self treatment.

 

One can talk or write on Aromatherapy and rarely be wrong as there are

no universal " truths " in AT .. plus there are many ways to skin the cat

when using EO .. and things that work for some don't work for others.

But when one speaks or writes on Essential Oils its no longer in the

realm of personal opinion .. they gotta do a bit of research or they

gonna be challenged by them whut have done it.

 

I have no intention of ever devoting time to writing a book on EO or AT

because they are the least significant things I have done in my entire

life. I might write on some experiences I've had .. maybe Largemouth

Bass fishing or SCUBA or raising Bullfrogs or Bird Dawgs .. something

real important and interesting like that .. but never on AT or EO. But

I will never entitle my book " The Complete Book of Anything " .. I always

run away from books with such titles. ;-)

 

> Thanks

> XXXXXXXXXX

 

Yes'm .. welcome you are.

 

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