Make Your Own Essential Oils

Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile oils that can be extracted from aromatic plants. Their use dates back to ancient times, and their wide variety of therapeutic, medicinal and culinary uses has ensured their continued popularity. About 700 different kinds of plants contain useful essential oils, and there are several methods employed to extract them, the most common of which is distillation. While essential oils can be very expensive to buy, they are relatively cheap to distill at home. This guide provides basic instructions on how to extract the oils using the relatively simple and effective water-and-steam distillation process.