The Oxymel goes in a completely different direction from the Extract, Oil, and Elixir. Here we’re deliberately bringing apple cider vinegar + honey into the picture, giving us tartness and sweetness alongside the pumpkin and warm spices. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝: 1 lb fresh culinary pumpkin, cut into ½–¾” pieces 1 whole vanilla bean, split 1 whole nutmeg, coarsely cracked ½ oz / 14 g Indonesian cassia cinnamon chips (Cinnamomum burmannii) 1 Tbsp whole cloves 3 cups apple cider vinegar labeled 5% acidity 1½–2½ cups mild honey, which we’ll add after extraction. Put the pumpkin, vanilla, and nutmeg into a clean half-gallon jar. Place the cinnamon and cloves in a small muslin or nut-milk bag and add that to the jar. Pour in the vinegar, keep the pumpkin submerged, and use a nonreactive lid. Start tasting around day 3. Once the cinnamon and clove have reached the level you want—often somewhere around 5–10 days—remove the spice bag. Leave the pumpkin, vanilla, and nutmeg to continue extracting for another 2–3 weeks total, tasting along the way. Once the brew reaches your desired flavor, strain and press thoroughly before adding any honey. Begin with 1½ cups, mix well, and taste. If it needs more rounding, add honey gradually, working up toward 2–2½ cups if necessary. The goal isn’t to bury the vinegar; you want enough tartness left to make this useful throughout the kitchen. Try it in sparkling water, shrubs, mocktails and cocktails, tea, cider, vinaigrettes, marinades, pan sauces, roasted vegetables, and glazes for pork and poultry. Pairing Pumpkin Spice Oxymel + Pumpkin Spice Culinary Oil + homemade Dijon also gives us a terrific starting point for an autumn vinaigrette. 𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭: Fresh pumpkin contributes a substantial amount of water to this preparation. I 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐱𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐥 rather than assuming vinegar and honey automatically make it shelf-stable. A shelf-stable version would need to be formulated and verified separately.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a Pumpkin Spice Tincture (a.k.a. Extract) recipe. I mentioned then I had a culinary oil as well. Took a little while to condense it from three separate notebooks, but here it is. The spirit of this pumpkin spice culinary oil is to bring fall to the kitchen. Feel free to use it as created, or add your favorite herbs and spices. 𝐎𝐢𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 • 11.2 fl oz high-oleic sunflower oil • 3.2 fl oz pecan oil • 1.6 fl oz cold-pressed benne oil No benne? Use 75% high-oleic sunflower oil and 25% pecan oil instead. 𝐏𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐤𝐢𝐧-𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚-𝐍𝐮𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞 • 16 fl oz prepared oil blend • 2 oz / 57 g completely dehydrated culinary pumpkin • 1 whole vanilla bean, split and cut into pieces • ½ whole nutmeg, coarsely cracked I especially like Seminole, Dickinson, Calabaza, or Kabocha for this. The pumpkin must be completely dry and brittle before it goes into the oil—no fresh or partially dried pumpkin. Combine everything in a clean, completely dry, heat-safe jar. Warm at 120–140°F for 4–6 hours. A temperature-controlled water bath works well; my favorite method is putting the jar right in my dehydrator for steady, gentle heat. Taste periodically. When you have a good pumpkin character rounded by vanilla, with nutmeg comfortably in the background, strain thoroughly. You now have your Pumpkin-Vanilla-Nutmeg Base Oil. 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧-𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 • 4 fl oz Pumpkin-Vanilla-Nutmeg Base Oil • ¼ oz / 7 g Indonesian cassia cinnamon chips (Cinnamomum burmannii) • 1 tsp whole cloves Combine in a small, clean, dry jar and warm at 120–140°F for 1–2 hours, tasting periodically. You’re intentionally making this stronger than you want the finished oil. When the cinnamon and clove are nicely pronounced, strain thoroughly. 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐢𝐥 The cinnamon-clove concentrate is intentionally strong, so don’t pour the whole thing into your pumpkin base. Here’s the easy starting ratio: For every 4 fl oz of Pumpkin-Vanilla-Nutmeg Base Oil, add ½ teaspoon Cinnamon-Clove Concentrate.

Yes, you read that right. 𝑷𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒌𝒊𝒏. 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. This warming seasonal digestive is traditionally indicated for acute autumnal disorders including oversized sweaters, leggings, ankle boots, plaid scarves, and an uncontrollable urge to photograph leaves. A dropperful and suddenly it’s 58 degrees outside, you’re wearing excessive amount of flannel, and there’s a suspiciously large decorative gourd collection on the porch. Seriously, though, this is more of a culinary botanical extract than a traditional tincture. Its goodness draws on traditional food and herbal wisdom. Cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg have long traditions as warming aromatic digestive herbs. Vanilla brings its wonderful aromatics, while pumpkin contributes its own plant compounds. This recipe is mostly about flavor, craft, preserving a little piece of the season—and having some fun with herbalism. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: I make this a little differently by separating it into two extractions. Cinnamon and clove extract so quickly and can easily overpower everything else. Separating them lets me control how much ends up in the finished extract. For the menstruum, I prefer rum rather than a neutral spirit because its subtle vanilla, oak, and warmth complement the pumpkin and baking spices. I also have an Everclear/vodka version if a neutral spirit is preferred. I start with a high-proof menstruum because fresh pumpkin contains a lot of water. As that water moves into the alcohol during extraction, the ABV drops substantially. The goal is a finished pumpkin spice extraction around 40% ABV, although that’s an estimate rather than a laboratory measurement. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞 — 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟖 𝐨𝐳 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭: • 1 lb fresh raw pumpkin, cut into ½–¾” chunks • 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise • 1 whole nutmeg, coarsely cracked • ½ oz cinnamon chips (Cinnamomum burmannii) • 1 Tbsp whole cloves • 18 oz Don Q 151-proof rum • 2 oz 80-proof vodka • 1 half-gallon wide-mouth Mason jar • 1 quart Mason jar • 1 half-pint Mason jar

Be scared, be very scared! Oh my dear God! I'm a Clinical Aromatherapist, I have been for most of my adult life (35 years)....... this is terrifying! Yes, I get OI could detect infections and diseases. Heck, I used to smell my kids ears when they were small to see if they had an infection! But this is nefarious. Scent/odour/perfume is a huge manipulator of our responses to every day life. But it can also dig deeper into our psyche and trigger past traumas. Chemical components in odours can also trigger adverse reactions if there are underlying health conditions. Think epilepsy, high or low blood pressure, miscarriage etc. This whole OI takes me straight to the last chapter of Patrick Suskind's novel Perfume, The Story of a Murderer, which was later turned into a film in 2006. In the book, the main character and serial killer is finally caught and brought to public trial. In the last chapter he is of course found guilty and is about to face his own death. But he releases a tiny vial of scent which sends the whole community into an erotic rapture. He escapes as they are all distracted, shall we say. I remember going to the cinema with my friend and saying, "I wonder how they will depict the final scene." The book and film left an indelible mark on me as an aromatherapist as I already knew and respected the power of odour on our reactions and how it can manipulate us both for good.... and bad. heck, I even suggest to my students to read the book! OI brings Suskind's novel to life. OI will be manipulated into a bio-weapon mark my words! With the recent heatwaves here, I have been jokingly saying "well, if we have this drought, why don't they cloud seed for some rain, now they have admitted to doing it? Why don't they do it to put out all these fires all over the place?" However, as they have admitted to doing this, I'm wondering what they have moved on to? They have still been chemtrailing..... but no rain! So what have they been diffusing all over us? "How we invented scent teleportation" That's the front page title from a company called OSMO in 2024.

Jane once told me there are some oils that should not be refrigerated. I was taught to refrigerate citrus oils, and pretty much have refrigerated everything! I recently ran out of carrier oils and now am wondering if I should or should not be refrigerating those. Does anyone else refrigerate anything? Why or why not? I do not use a whole lot of oils so preservation is important to me. Thank you for your expertise!