How do you make essential oil ?

I was told you use a base oil and cook the herbs in it , but I thought essential oil was pure oil from the plant and not mixed with a base oil.How do you make essential oil ?
You're right, essential oil is pure plant oil. The oil you're talking about is herbal infused oil. If you've heard of calendula oil or St. John's wort oil, those are infused oils - base (carrier) oils infused with herbs. It's usually not cooked, or even heated, but it's the same thing.





Essential oils are steam distilled, although most citrus oils are cold pressed. Some oils are solvent extracted (CO2s and absolutes), and technically they aren't considered essential oils, but most of the time they're grouped in anyway.





People don't usually make the oils at home. You need some kind of distiller, and even if you can rig one up, you need copious amounts of fresh herbs to make a small amount of essential oil. It's more cost effective to buy them.How do you make essential oil ?
The method you explain is called enfleurage en chaud - which is then used as is, or distilled to separate the fat from the plant essence.





There are many methods of making essential oils from plant materials.