Cinnamon bark oil hydro-distillation: controlling still headspace pressure and cinnamaldehyde yield?
3 Answers from travellers
Distilling true Ceylon cinnamon bark oil (Cinnamomum verum) requires rigorous thermal regulation. Ground quill chips and featherings are loaded into copper or 316-grade stainless steel stills with fresh water. The retort must operate at atmospheric pressure or slight negative draft, with steam temperatures strictly below 102°C. Exceeding 1.2 bar boiler pressure scorches the botanical biomass, causing caramelization of natural sugars and thermal degradation of trans-cinnamaldehyde into harsh benzaldehyde. Condensers must be chilled with counter-current water below 30°C to ensure heavy aromatic volatiles condense cleanly into the separator.
Unlike leaf oil which is dominated by eugenol, pure bark oil carries 65% to 75% cinnamaldehyde, imparting an intensely sweet, non-phenolic flavor.
Residual hydrosol water discharging from the Florentine receiver is recycled back into the boiler (cohobation) to capture dissolved polar aromatic fractions.
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