Extracting Sassafras Oil
Numerous methods exist for extracting your very own oils. Cold pressing may work for products such as grapes and olives, and chemical oil extraction needs bit of laboratory equipments and some know-how. Distillers can be used for oil generation too, but this requires extra equipment. Best way is trying “chicken soup” method. Sassafras oil is available in bark of roots of such Sassafras trees. These trees are found in wild areas of all over northeast, south, southeast, southwestern United States plus other places too in world. Sassafras is generally used for making tea, but not its oil. The Sassafras oil is used commonly in aromatherapy, also a bug repellent. This oil has some sweet-spicy-pepper smell with underlying wood’s or earthiness hint.
For extracting this Sassafras oil first track mature Sassafras plants. Locate their main roots from trunk, and then use a shovel for digging into where root is at least of 2 inch thickness. Dig around root, clear the dirt, using one ax hack out one portion of root. Avoid cutting more than one root section from individual tree for not killing that tree.
Now remove bark from root sections using one sharp knife or potato peeler. Place these shavings in colander, and then rinse it thoroughly for removing the dirt. Set colander, bark, all in a bowl then let stand. After draining all the water begin the drying process. Toss this bank occasionally moving inner wet bark to face top for air exposure, the bark dries totally in about 2 weeks.
Place this bark in one pot then cover it with water, about one inch greater than bark layers. Put this pot on stove; simmer it for around 4-6 hours for extracting oil as much possible. The oil naturally rises to top. After the simmering, cool to room-temperature; place this pot in refrigerator over-night.
Then remove this pot from refrigerator, and then use one flat ladle for skimming off congealed plus hardened oil from top with bark-broth below. Place this hardened oil in other pot then put this pot on stove. After warming in liquid-form, pour them through various cheesecloth layers, for removing the impurities pour through funnel into one long-necked bottle. Finally cap this bottle. Don’t expose this bottle to light or air.


