Laurel Oil How is it made?

Grows in the Mediterranean Laurel (Laurus nobilis). Evergreen, laurel remaining green throughout the year, flowers in March. Seeds reach full maturity in October. The outer parts of dark shiny black seeds with a large size of chickpeas Leaves are used in alternative medicine as well as giving taste to the food with their good odors. Laurel leaves are very important export branch.

Let us give you additional information: Defne, the specificity of the Eastern Mediterranean, plants still grow in the climate of the ocean.

The laurel oil melting at 30 ° C is obtained by crushing the laurel fruits / seeds in hot water. Consisting of 95% fatty acids and 5% essential oils. Oil is mostly used using soap. But nowadays to relieve joint pain and do so in the cosmetic industry.

80% of the annual production of 8 thousand tonnes, remove the bay leaves from Turkey. Bay leaves have a wide foreign market.

In addition to a pleasant legend of the laurel tree, there is still a tradition that has survived to the present day. In the Middle Ages, scientists were crowned laurels at universities. In one of the laurel leaves and fruits; This is where the baccalaureate (Latin bacca laurea: laurel fruit) is the name of the high school diploma in France. I mean, it's still in Europe today.

Why would scientists wear crowns with laurel leaves and berries on their heads? That's where the legend goes. The event takes place in Antioch's Warfare, whose original name is Defne ... Apollo falls in love with the girl named Defne. However, Defne does not respond to Apollo. When Apollo thinks that he has met him, Defne turns into a lush, fragrant tree in season, and Apollo wears the crown of his leaves and fruits. For the rest of his life he always wanders with this crown. He will write very short and read this myth on the Internet. Already in Hatay Museum presents a mosaic that tells the scene of a legend. *

Obtaining oil from laurel seeds is a very difficult task ... Seeds collected in October or November are put into huge boilers and water is added and boiled. Boiling seeds are separated from their shells and beaten with large spiny mace. Now, as Fatma Gezmen does, she is beaten with a knob on the tip of the drill. When hot, the seeds are crushed and left on the fire for 20 hours. When the boiler starts to cool, the oil comes to the surface. Bay oil is collected slowly over the cauldron with the help of a cup. Some people add oil to the laurel seeds where the oil is extracted and boil it for a second time and can obtain oil again. One kilogram of laurel oil can be obtained from approximately 10 kg of laurel seed. Reliable bay oil can be obtained from Şenköylüler site. I bought it and liked it very much. Around 30 tons of laurel seeds are processed as oil in Şenköyü of Hatay.