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Drink

To Distil Peppermint Water

A distilled infusion of peppermint leaves made by boiling water with the leaves.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Distil Peppermint Water

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the peppermint into short lengths.

  2. Fill your still with the peppermint and add water until half full.

Distil

  1. Make a good fire under the still.

  2. When it is nearly boiling and the still begins to drop, adjust the heat to prevent boiling over.

Bottle and store

  1. The next day, bottle the peppermint water and let it stand for three to four days to cool.

  2. Cork it well and store it for long-term use.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Fresh peppermint leaves
Provides the aroma and flavour that the water carries over during distillation.
Water
Carries the volatile peppermint aromatics over as steam and forms the finished distilled liquid.

The step that matters

Adjusting the heat as the still begins to drop. If the heat is too high the mixture can boil over and scorch or spoil the charge, while too little heat stops the steam carrying the aromatic oils through. Keeping the heat just below boiling lets the vapour condense steadily and cleanly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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