Calendula Oil (2024)

Calendula Oil

My experiments with calendula oil started with a free packet of seeds. Beautiful weather meant that the flowers overtook my parents' garden in the most vibrant, joyous way. They were destined to stay ornamental until I watched a feature on BBC'sGardener's World about the many uses for calendula oil: as an excellent moisturising skin oil, a lip salve, a healthy oil for salads, a skin balm for baths, a natural dye for food or fabric...

So I began drying the flowerheads before infusing them in a cold-pressed carrier oil. Cold-pressed means that heat hasn't been used in the process of extraction, thereby retaining the nutritional and medicinal quality of the oil. I chose an almond oil, but an olive oil would also work. Alternatively, experiment with flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil or avocado oil.

It's important to make sure you're using calendula rather than marigold flowers: the names are often used interchangeably so, for ease, the flowers you want should look like the ones pictured here. Marigold petals are more densely packed, not all species of marigold are edible, and they can be irritable to the skin.

As the oil is made over a number of months, it's also important to use sterilised jars for infusing the oil and for storing the final product. You can find instructions on sterilising jars here. Likewise, it's important that you begin the oil-making process with fully dried-out flowers, otherwise mould may grow: the petals should be crispy and much reduced in size (see photo below for a comparison between the fresh and fully dried flowers).

This recipe can be easily adapted according to the quantity of flowers you have, so quantities are deliberately omitted here. However, you can pack at least 50 flowerheads into a litre jar, which will eventually make about three quarters of a litre of oil. You can choose whether or not to single- or double-infuse the oil, for additional strength (more instructions below).

Rather than throwing the spent flowerheads straight onto the compost heap, stuff them into old tights or fill muslin squares (tied with string or a rubber band) for an easy bath bomb: suspended over the bath tap or dropped into the tub, the heat of the bath will release the remaining oil, and you'll be surprised by how much is left in the flowerheads even after diligent straining.

Precise quantities depend on how many flowers you have/how much oil you want to make.

Ingredients

• Calendula flowerheads
• Carrier oil, such as almond/olive/avocado... (preferably cold-pressed). Use a high quality oil, where possible.

Equipment

• Sterilisedglass containers with airtight lid (e.g. Kilner jars) - you'll need a wide-brimmed jars for the infusion process, and then bottles for storing the oil
• Large rubber band(s)
• Clean muslin
• Old tights (if making bath bombs with the spent flowerheads)
• Food-safe gloves

2. Once they are fully dried out, pack them into a sterilised, airtight jar. Put as many flowers in as you can, without compressing them. Then, pour over the carrier oil, right to the top, covering the flowers completely. Use as many jars as you need. Close the airtight jar and leave in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight for 5-6 weeks.
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3. After this time, the oil will have taken on a bright orange colour and will be ready to decant. At this stage, you can choose whether or not to double infuse the oil with a second batch of dried flowers - this results in a more intensely flavoured and coloured oil. The pictures here show a single infused oil. Whether you are doing a single or a double infusion, once the oil has fully infused, suspend a piece of clean muslin fabric over a large bowl/bucket (using a large rubber band to secure it). Use a ladle to gradually decant the petals onto the taut muslin, letting the oil drip through. To avoid the muslin caving in due to weight, keep transferring spent petals to another dish once they have released most of the oil. If the petals still hold a lot of oil, take small handfuls of them and squeeze them in your hand (wearing food-safe gloves) until the petals are significantly drier.

4. Either compost the spent petals OR stuff small handfuls into old tights/small squares of muslin: these can be added to baths where the heat of the water will help to release more oil, which is good for the skin.
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