The large door on the barn stands open in the early morning light and there is a glint of copper peeking out of the gloom, hinting that the huge stills are ready for the day’s work. The air around the farm is perfumed with the glorious scent of lavender. It is time for the harvest. At Fragrant Isle, the English lavenders are harvested first. Beginning about the middle of July, some of the lavender is cut, tied into bundles, hung from the barn ceiling, and dried in the open, airy space away
from direct light beyond the entrance to the barn. These lavender flowers will eventually find their way into cookies, cakes, and other culinary delights, and in the case of the aromatic buds harvested later in the season, be placed into sachets to scent linen closets for decades. It’s the lavender that is cut early each morning and taken to the barn in bins that is made into the essential oils we love so much. The giant copper stills are fired up several times during the day, and only
the amount of lavender that can be processed in one day is harvested - the ultimate in field-to-still-freshness. Did you know that it takes about 50 lbs. of lavender stems and flowers to make about 8 ounces of essential oil?
How this happens: There is a prescribed amount of water placed in the pots at the base of each still, the tall, tubular stacks are filled with plant material, and the water is heated to create steam, which rises, passing over the lavender and through the tubing, condensing into liquid as it cools. The resulting liquid
separates into precious essential oil and into water which now contains tiny molecules of essential oil suspended in it. This lavender-water is known as hydrosol. So how are these two products of distillation - the essential oil and the hydrosol - used? The lavender essential oil made with English lavenders (lavandula angustafolia) can be used in cooking and baking, in diffusers, and in soaps and lotions. A very little bit will go a long way, so use only a drop or two when
making food, and use it only in cold applications such as flavoring frostings, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. Adding heat to it can change the flavor.
The aromatic lavender essential oil (oil from lavandula intermedia) will taste bitter because of its natural content of camphor, but it is a marvelous addition to diffusers, soaps, and lotions.
Hydrosol - that water left after the distillation process - can be used in many ways. Lavender is both antibacterial and antifungal, so add it to water used to clean your home as it will both sanitize and scent the surfaces you are washing. Put a splash or two into the rinse water in the washing machine when laundering linens. Lavender hydrosol can also be a very mild cleanser; use it to remove makeup or to wash sensitive skin.
from direct light beyond the entrance to the barn. These lavender flowers will eventually find their way into cookies, cakes, and other culinary delights, and in the case of the aromatic buds harvested later in the season, be placed into sachets to scent linen closets for decades. It’s the lavender that is cut early each morning and taken to the barn in bins that is made into the essential oils we love so much. The giant copper stills are fired up several times during the day, and only
the amount of lavender that can be processed in one day is harvested - the ultimate in field-to-still-freshness. Did you know that it takes about 50 lbs. of lavender stems and flowers to make about 8 ounces of essential oil?
How this happens: There is a prescribed amount of water placed in the pots at the base of each still, the tall, tubular stacks are filled with plant material, and the water is heated to create steam, which rises, passing over the lavender and through the tubing, condensing into liquid as it cools. The resulting liquid
separates into precious essential oil and into water which now contains tiny molecules of essential oil suspended in it. This lavender-water is known as hydrosol. So how are these two products of distillation - the essential oil and the hydrosol - used? The lavender essential oil made with English lavenders (lavandula angustafolia) can be used in cooking and baking, in diffusers, and in soaps and lotions. A very little bit will go a long way, so use only a drop or two when
making food, and use it only in cold applications such as flavoring frostings, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. Adding heat to it can change the flavor.
The aromatic lavender essential oil (oil from lavandula intermedia) will taste bitter because of its natural content of camphor, but it is a marvelous addition to diffusers, soaps, and lotions.
Hydrosol - that water left after the distillation process - can be used in many ways. Lavender is both antibacterial and antifungal, so add it to water used to clean your home as it will both sanitize and scent the surfaces you are washing. Put a splash or two into the rinse water in the washing machine when laundering linens. Lavender hydrosol can also be a very mild cleanser; use it to remove makeup or to wash sensitive skin.