Alchemy & natural philosophy / Early modern natural philosophy
Juniper Oil by Distillation
Della Porta / oils from water
Ten gallons of juniper wood. One month of maceration. Then into the still.
Source
Giambattista della Porta research stream.
Question
When the procedure is followed in practice, does it produce aromatic oil, hydrosol, resinous material, or some combination of the three?
Materials
Method
- Macerate juniper wood for one month.
- Distill the prepared material.
- Observe what separates out rather than assuming the source's word oil maps neatly onto a modern category.
Observations
- Because this is juniper wood, not berries, I am not expecting gin.
- Think old chest. Cedar closet's stranger cousin.
Result
Uncertainty
- Work in progress. No final result yet.
References
Next
- Document the source passage, setup, material preparation, fractions collected, and smell/texture observations.