First of, sorry of the question is not for here, but I can't seemk to find more proper place... My question is, how much lemons are needed to produce 1 kilogram pure essential oil, not the method with olive oil, but pure one, with only lemons?
asked Feb 16, 2014 at 14:26
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Might sound silly but it really depends on each lemon size and can't be predicted.– Shadow Wizard Is Sad And AngryFeb 16, 2014 at 15:04
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@ShadowWizard it surely depends, but I think that even giving an interval is interesting here. Or an average value, even if it is known that it will vary a lot. Assuming lemons 5 cm in the equatorial diameter, do I need 50 kilos or 500 on average?– rumtscho ♦Feb 16, 2014 at 15:07
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an answer in kilograms is also accepted– Sartheris StormhammerFeb 16, 2014 at 15:09
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3The problem with an answer in kilograms is that it still depends on the lemon size. You only use the peel for making essential oils, and small lemons a higher peel-to-lemon ratio by weight than large lemons. And even an answer in kilograms of peel will have a variation, because the "juiciness" of peel will differ between cultivars, climate conditions during growth, ripeness and so on. But I must say that the range between the two existing answers is much larger than I expected, 3000 lemons vs 3500 lbs of rind is strange.– rumtscho ♦Feb 16, 2014 at 17:38
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1I have fixed my coversion error - it's closer to 3300 than 3500... Still a large discrepancy, though.– James McLeodFeb 16, 2014 at 17:45
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2 Answers
I haven't personally tried making lemon essential oil. But according to Young Living, an MD named Jean Valnet estimated that it takes 3,000 lemons to produce one kilo of Lemon essential oil. Here are some links to the estimations (keep in mind that a kilogram is roughly 2.2 lbs):
- Young Living (states 3000 makes 1 kilo)
- LemonMania (states 3000 makes 1 kilo)
- Veriditas Botanicals (states 3000 makes 2 lbs (about .91 kilo))
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That blog says he estimated that - probably not a very high confidence number.– Cascabel ♦Feb 16, 2014 at 17:42
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The problem is, given that lemons vary in size, I think the best one can get is an estimate.– TrilliunFeb 16, 2014 at 17:59
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I never said you could get an exact number, but estimates are not all of equal quality. The phrasing on the blog makes it sound like the guy has never actually made the oil, making it a lot less confident of a number than an estimate from someone who has.– Cascabel ♦Feb 16, 2014 at 18:11
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1@TFD interesting. It must be a side effect of metric minds using an imperial unit now and then. I've encountered decimal places in lbs frequently enough that I didn't notice anything unusual. Now that you mention it, I've experienced it the other way around, an American describing to me a thickness as 1 3/8 cm. I was quite taken aback and had to do a lot of calculation in my head :)– rumtscho ♦Oct 12, 2015 at 10:19
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13000 Meyer lemons is about 30 bushels. You can grow about 30 bushels per square chain. So one acre should give you 20 lbs of oil :-)– TFDOct 12, 2015 at 11:06
I am not sure how definitive this is, but it states that the rinds of 1500 lemons are required to make one pound of lemon essential oil http://www.everygreenherb.com/lemon.html
For a kilogram, you would need the rinds of around to 3300 lemons.
answered Feb 16, 2014 at 17:07
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Measuring by rind weight sounds a lot more accurate than by lemon weight or number, too.– Cascabel ♦Feb 16, 2014 at 17:43
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LOL yes, and I was just about to fix that. This may well remove the upvote, but deservedly so... Feb 16, 2014 at 17:56
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