We planned to run four separate lavender batches in order to
maintain the purity of the different lavender varieties. So the entire distillation process takes at least six hours. Long enough to get hungry. Since I would be busy w/ distillation, the first order of the day is to ensure there is ample food for hungry distillers :) It is a personal goal of mine to create a deep connection with food. Thus the menu must mix locally produced food with the purpose of the day and the day's participants: olive and lavender producers! The evening before I had prepared an appropriate faire. (See distilling menu below) So at 8am I started to lay out the spread on our farm table in the kitchen. Then I spent the rest of the morning prepping the distiller and getting ready for our guests. See the photo on the right of the Carmel Lavender crane operator lowering the basket into the loader/dumper.
maintain the purity of the different lavender varieties. So the entire distillation process takes at least six hours. Long enough to get hungry. Since I would be busy w/ distillation, the first order of the day is to ensure there is ample food for hungry distillers :) It is a personal goal of mine to create a deep connection with food. Thus the menu must mix locally produced food with the purpose of the day and the day's participants: olive and lavender producers! The evening before I had prepared an appropriate faire. (See distilling menu below) So at 8am I started to lay out the spread on our farm table in the kitchen. Then I spent the rest of the morning prepping the distiller and getting ready for our guests. See the photo on the right of the Carmel Lavender crane operator lowering the basket into the loader/dumper.Today's Distillation Menu
- Fresh Jalapeno Pepper and Carrot Falafel
- Olive and Basil Tapenade
- Quinoa Caviar in Lavender Bread Cups (adapted from Tassajara Cook Book)
- Lavender Bread and Organic Pepper and Garden Tomato Bruschetta
- Fresh Jalapeno Pepper and Carrot Falafel
- Olive and Basil Tapenade
- Quinoa Caviar in Lavender Bread Cups (adapted from Tassajara Cook Book)
- Lavender Bread and Organic Pepper and Garden Tomato Bruschetta
Today is special as well because two good friends from Palo Alto called and said they would come down to see the distillation. The last time I had seen Susan and Karl in the early Spring when we took a day trip down to Big Sur together to visit an open house / party at the Hawthorne Gallery (and just bumble around Big Sur in general). Susan had called earlier this week asking to come see the lavender, one day after I had finished my harvest! But fortune was with us, and today we would be processing more lavender. And they would get to see lavender after all.
Back to distilling. Kathy had brought four different varieties as I mentioned: Grosso, Provence, Angustifolia, and Twickel Purple (also an Angustifolia). 
We set to distilling. We had the most of the Angustifolia and Twickel Purple. This gave us very good yield for Angustifolias. Probably about 250ml combinded. Interestingly, the Grosso and Provence, which should have had higher yields had only a combined yield of about 100-125ml. Granted there was only half as much, but I would have expected higher yields still for an x-intermedia. Well, this is the joy of farming. The plants tell you, not the other way around ;)
We set to distilling. We had the most of the Angustifolia and Twickel Purple. This gave us very good yield for Angustifolias. Probably about 250ml combinded. Interestingly, the Grosso and Provence, which should have had higher yields had only a combined yield of about 100-125ml. Granted there was only half as much, but I would have expected higher yields still for an x-intermedia. Well, this is the joy of farming. The plants tell you, not the other way around ;)Look at the beautiful golden colors of the three oils on the left. In contrast, the Grosso on the right had a very pale color. This was uncharacteristic. Given the low yeild, it made us wonder if the lavender was truly Grosso. Maybe next year we will pay more attention to the spikes!
All and all, a wonderful day of beautiful lavender fragrances, good friends, good chats, and golden scented lavender oil to show for the trouble.
No comments:
Post a Comment