Pine Essential Oil: A Recipe

My husband loves the scent of pine. He asked me earlier if I would make some pine essential oil that we can use on our vacuum filter. There is a really easy method to do this (make the oil) and I thought I’d share it. If you have a pine tree, collect about one half cup of fresh pine needles. With a mortar and pestle bruise the pine needles and toss these into 6-8 ounces of sweet almond oil. Mix well. For the first four days gently shake the mixture once a day and keep it in a cupboard. Then leave it in a dark place (pantry or root cellar or basement is perfect) for about two weeks (longer if you want). Strain through cheesecloth to remove the pine needles and there you have pine essential oil. You can decrease this recipe for smaller amounts and feel free to modify the recipe to use your favorite carrier oil or more (or less) pine needles.  If in the finished product the scent isn’t strong enough you can add new bruised pine needles and steep longer until you get the desired strength. The oil should last a long time provided you keep it in a cool, dark place (consistent temperature is important). If you can, store all your oils in dark bottles.

You can use this same method with any fragrant plant. Lavender, rosemary, and even rose petals come to mind.