Re: Re: 190 Proof Everclear

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

> Why do we add:

>

> ... a quarter teaspoon of fuller's earth.. Magnesium carbonate or talc,

then filter?

The technique is similar to dropping an egg into chicken broth to clarify

it. The larger, un-emulsified oil particles stick to the clay and are

filtered out, resulting in (hopefully) a clear product.

The oil never really dissolves into the liquid completely...they are so

small that we perceive the emulsion as a " clear " liquid...

Cat

OK Thanks....

Somehow, I was under the impression that for Perfumes, EdP, EdT, Colognes, AS,

the adative (filtering agent) was used to physically block the tiny holes in the

filter paper, or fill the voids that are too big and let the suspended

(insoluble) material through the paper fibers.

This may be why the first pass is, and should be, recycled in the same filter

paper, as the first filtrate is just beginning to fill the voids and coat the

paper, thereafter the solution should be clear.

e.i. When filterind 200 ml, the first 10-20 ml is recycled, and if the next

10-20 ml still cloudy, that is also recycled.... if still cloudy, you are using

the wrong filter paper, and adding more agent, just destroys the quality of the

product.

Commercially, when using a filter press, since the filter is so dense, it is

self sealing so to speak, and no filtering agent is needed .... BUT since the

filter is so tight, pressure is needed to push the liquid through - blockage may

occur, and layers may be used - coarse to fine. As we filter without pressure,

we use gravity to " suck " the product down using a long stem funnel. As the

prodcuct slided down the long stem it pull the material in the filter down.

Fluting the filter is also a good idea, as this will increase the surface area.

I understand the ideal is to use the least amount of filtering agent, just the

right amount for the filter area that needs to be 'coated'. Otherwise, the oil

particle do cling to the surface of the agent, and reduce the concentration

(sponge effect) or warp the olfactory balance.

As far as I understand, we are not dealing with an emulsion, but with a

solution. Thus insoluble material will never clear up or disolve in a perfume,

as no solubilizer is ever used. What remains behind, and indeed is creates the

cloudiness, are the alcohol insoluble parts (terpenes & waxes, and particulate

matter).

For cosmetic, personal care, and household applications, a solubilizer may be

used but rarely in fine fragrance, EdT and colognes.

Wonder why it we need to cool (actually freeze) the product before filtering?

What is the action of the water?

-= CB =-

[Guest guest]

>----- Original Message -----

The technique is similar to dropping an egg into chicken broth to clarify

it. The larger, un-emulsified oil particles stick to the clay and are

filtered out, resulting in (hopefully) a clear product.

The oil never really dissolves into the liquid completely...they are so

small that we perceive the emulsion as a " clear " liquid...

Ah! Just checked my 'Calibre' library.<

==============================================================================

From: " Molecular Gastronomy " - Hervé This (2002), pp279

Filtration in the Lab

The chief problem encountered in making a good stock is primarily a question

of filtration: What is the best way to make a cloudy liquid clear? Traditionally

clarification has been achieved by stirring a few egg whites into the cold

stock and then heating the mixture over a low flame so that, when they

coagulate,

the whites trap the solid particles suspended in the liquid. Straining the

mixture through a chinois lined with linen completes the process.

This procedure is unsatisfactory because it robs the liquid of a part of its

flavor.

Some chefs therefore add vegetables and fresh meat, cut into small pieces,

along with the egg whites, to restore the flavor lost through clarification— a

costly business.

Imagine going to the trouble of cooking a stock for several hours and then

having

to re-enrich it because cooking has impoverished it.

Chemists, for whom filtration is a daily activity, solved this problem long

ago with the aid of various devices adapted to specialized purposes. Indeed, the

catalogue of one leading supplier of laboratory equipment today devotes more

than forty pages to such devices. One of the most commonly used models has a

funnel equipped with a fritted glass plate (which, unlike paper filters, does

not

tear) containing pores of uniform size. The matter to be filtered is deposited

in the funnel, and the funnel is then placed on top of a conical vial in which a

vacuum has been created by means of a waterjet pump, an inexpensive device

that attaches directly to a faucet.

==============================================================================

Yes, adding too much filtering agent will rob the product (in this case egg

white,

for the perfumer, the filtering agent). Similarly, we cannot use

a vacuum, as this would rob the volatile alcohol. Less alcohol = more

cloudiness.

-= =-

[Guest guest]

> Somehow, I was under the impression that for Perfumes, EdP, EdT, Colognes,

AS, the adative (filtering agent) was used to physically block the tiny

holes in the filter paper, or fill the voids that are too big and let the

suspended (insoluble) material through the paper fibers.

>

> This may be why the first pass is, and should be, recycled in the same

filter paper, as the first filtrate is just beginning to fill the voids and

coat the paper, thereafter the solution should be clear.

>

> e.i. When filterind 200 ml, the first 10-20 ml is recycled, and if the

next 10-20 ml still cloudy, that is also recycled.... if still cloudy, you

are using the wrong filter paper, and adding more agent, just destroys the

quality of the product.

>

> Commercially, when using a filter press, since the filter is so dense, it

is self sealing so to speak, and no filtering agent is needed .... BUT since

the filter is so tight, pressure is needed to push the liquid through -

blockage may occur, and layers may be used - coarse to fine. As we filter

without pressure, we use gravity to " suck " the product down using a long

stem funnel. As the prodcuct slided down the long stem it pull the material

in the filter down. Fluting the filter is also a good idea, as this will

increase the surface area.

>

> I understand the ideal is to use the least amount of filtering agent, just

the right amount for the filter area that needs to be 'coated'. Otherwise,

the oil particle do cling to the surface of the agent, and reduce the

concentration (sponge effect) or warp the olfactory balance.

>

> As far as I understand, we are not dealing with an emulsion, but with a

solution. Thus insoluble material will never clear up or disolve in a

perfume, as no solubilizer is ever used. What remains behind, and indeed is

creates the cloudiness, are the alcohol insoluble parts (terpenes & waxes,

and particulate matter).

>

> For cosmetic, personal care, and household applications, a solubilizer may

be used but rarely in fine fragrance, EdT and colognes.

>

> Wonder why it we need to cool (actually freeze) the product before

filtering? What is the action of the water?

Hi Chris:

Thank you for clarifying (pun intended) that...my rudimentary knowledge of

emulsions, solutions, etc. stems from my love of cooking (and it shows)!

Most definitions of an emulsion are in regards to a fixed oil in water

product using a solubulizer...I had assumed since we are dealing with

essential oils in an alcohol base that this was the correct terminology (the

alcohol would be the solubulizer here).

Cat