The
History of Distillation
The roots of distillation methods stem from the ingenuity
of our ancient Arabian Alchemists centuries back with
Avicenna (AD 980-1037) perfecting the process of steam
distillation. Early texts on the subject are from these
alchemists with Avicenna himself writing over 100 books
of science. It is he who is credited with inventing
the cooled condenser which he used to produce pure essential
oils and aromatic water.
The first authentic and detailed description of distilling
essential oils is by the Spanish physician Anald de
Villanova in the thirteenth century. Further advances
in distillation were made through the skillful hands
of the French during their Perfumery revolution.
However, in 1975 a perfectly preserved terra-cotta distillation
apparatus from about 3000 BC was found in Pakistan.
Along with this distillation techniques were also developed
in China between 300 and 600 AD. Members of the Benedictine
Monastery of Salerno about 1000 AD are credited with
developing the modern still in this region.
One of the most complete works on essential oils and
distillation is
“The Essential Oils” by Ernest Guenther,
offering a vast base of knowledge on this subject.
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