How to Make Orange Blossom Water (Neroli) at Home

Orange blossom water is the water that comes off a copper still when you distill fresh citrus blossoms. In a 5 litre copper alembic still, 300 g of blossoms in 2 litres of water gives 400 to 500 ml of clear, intensely fragrant water in about two hours. It is the fleur d'oranger of Middle Eastern pastry and French baking, and the same liquid that perfumery suppliers sell as neroli hydrosol.

The oil of the same flower is neroli. It comes over in traces during the run, mostly dissolved in the water. That is why the water is the real product of a blossom distillation and the oil is a rare bonus. This guide covers fresh versus dried blossoms, the plant-to-water ratio and the run on a 5 litre still. It also gives the yield you can honestly expect, storage, and how to use the water in the kitchen and on skin.

TL;DR

• Quick answer: put 300 g of fresh, unsprayed citrus blossoms in 2 litres of water, run the still at a gentle simmer, collect 400 to 500 ml, and stop.
• Ratio: about 1 part blossom to 7 parts water by weight. More blossom, not less water, makes a stronger water.
• Yield: 400 to 500 ml of water per run. Neroli oil is roughly 0.1 percent of blossom weight, so a home batch gives no usable oil layer.
• Fresh vs dried: fresh is far better. Dried works at 100 to 150 g with a flatter, tea-like result.
• Best still size: the 5 litre still for a backyard tree, the 5 gallon for an orchard or a market stall.
• Storage: dark glass in the fridge, 6 to 12 months.

What orange blossom water is, and why it is also called neroli hydrosol

A hydrosol is the condensed steam from distilling plant material. The steam passes through the blossoms, picks up their water-soluble aromatics, and condenses in the coil as a clear, scented water. With orange blossom almost everything worth having comes over in that water, which is why this is one of the few distillations where nobody minds the lack of an oil layer.

One tree gives three different products. Neroli is the oil of the blossom, petitgrain is the oil of the leaves and twigs, and orange oil is pressed from the peel rather than distilled. The classic perfumery flower is bitter orange, Citrus aurantium, but sweet orange, lemon, grapefruit and Meyer lemon blossoms all make beautiful waters of their own.

You will see the same liquid sold as orange flower water, fleur d'oranger, mazahr, neroli water and neroli hydrosol. The name changes with the shelf. The water does not.

Fresh vs dried blossoms

Fresh blossoms

Fresh is the real thing. Pick blossoms and fat buds in the cool of the morning on the day they open, from a tree nobody has sprayed, and distill within a few hours. Blossom aroma is a same-day affair; a bag of flowers left until tomorrow smells like a bag of flowers left until tomorrow. Open flowers and closed buds both work, and buds carry a surprising share of the scent.

Where Americans find them: backyard trees across Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, and potted Meyer lemons everywhere else. A mature tree drops far more bloom than it can ever set as fruit. You are distilling the surplus it was going to shed anyway.

Dried blossoms

Dried orange blossoms are sold in Middle Eastern grocers and tea shops, and they do work. Expect a weaker, hay-and-tea character and no oil film at all. Use 100 to 150 g of dried blossoms in place of 300 g fresh, and soak them in the still water for 20 to 30 minutes before you light the burner. Buy food-grade, unsprayed blossoms only. Potpourri is fragranced and belongs nowhere near a still.

Our honest view: dried blossoms are a winter project for a still that is bored. Fresh blossoms are the reason to own one.

The plant-to-water ratio

For the 5 litre still we use 300 g of blossoms to 2 litres of water, roughly 1 part blossom to 7 parts water by weight. The blossoms go straight into the water. The 5 litre arrives complete and needs no basket or column; this is a hydro-distillation, the same method as rose water and chamomile hydrosol.

Two litres is enough water to hold a gentle simmer for two hours without the pot running dry and the last blossoms scorching. If you want a stronger water, add blossom rather than cutting water: 400 to 500 g in the same 2 litres is the strongest sensible charge. Never fill the pot more than two-thirds, or foam reaches the head and the water tastes of boiled flowers.

Use distilled or filtered water so that nothing but blossom reaches the bottle. On a 5 gallon still the same ratio scales to 1 to 1.5 kg of blossoms in 8 to 10 litres of water, collecting 4 to 6 litres.

What you'll need

• 300 g fresh unsprayed citrus blossoms and buds (or 100 to 150 g dried)
• 2 litres of distilled or filtered water
• Ice and cold water for the condenser
• Dark glass bottles, sterilised, about 500 ml in total
• A copper still: the 5 litre copper alembic still matches one backyard tree's bloom
• A thermometer (the onion head of the 5 litre has one built in)
• Flour-and-water paste for sealing the joints, if steam escapes

Step by step on a 5 litre copper still

1. Pick blossoms and fat buds in the morning from an unsprayed tree, and distill them the same day.
2. Shake off insects and dust. Do not wash the blossoms; water on the petals dilutes the aromatics you are trying to capture.
3. Put 300 g of blossoms loosely into the still pot and add 2 litres of distilled water, keeping the water at least 3 cm below the head joint.
4. Assemble the still: onion head on the pot, swan neck into the condenser coil. Seal the joints with flour paste if you see steam escaping.
5. Fill the condenser bucket with ice and cold water, and set a dark glass bottle at the outlet.
6. Heat gently to 85 to 95°C (185 to 205°F). Blossom scorches easily, so never let the pot boil hard.
7. Expect the first drops after 15 to 20 minutes. Collect the first 100 ml in its own bottle; it is the strongest water and the one to keep for your face.
8. Hold a steady drip of 2 to 3 drops per second. A running stream means the heat is too high and you are carrying water, not aroma.
9. Keep collecting for 90 to 120 minutes until you have 400 to 500 ml, or until the distillate smells of plain water.
10. Stop there. Running on past 500 ml only waters down what you already have.
11. Let the still cool fully before you open it. Check the surface of the first bottle for a thin golden film; if there is one, that is neroli, and a pipette lifts it.
12. Cap, label with the date, and refrigerate. Top up the condenser ice during the run so the distillate stays cold.

What yield to expect, and where the numbers come from

The water. The old French pharmacopoeia graded orange flower water by how much distillate was drawn per weight of flowers. "Quadruple" water was pound for pound, "triple" was three pounds of water from two pounds of flowers, and "double" was two pounds of water per pound of flowers. The source is Jourdan, 1840, as quoted in the United States Dispensatory. For 300 g of blossoms that brackets 300 to 600 ml. Our 400 to 500 ml sits between the old triple and double grades, which is why the first 100 ml deserves its own bottle.

The oil. Fragrance houses quote neroli at about 1 kg of oil from 1,000 kg of blossoms, a yield of 0.07 to 0.13 percent depending on the season and the picker. From 300 g of blossoms that is 0.2 to 0.4 ml in total, and most of it dissolves into the water rather than floating on it. A home run therefore gives orange blossom water with a trace of neroli in it, not a bottle of neroli oil. Anyone promising neroli oil from a kitchen batch is selling something other than neroli.

Sources: dsm-firmenich, Neroli Bigarade product sheet (1,000 kg of flowers to 1 kg of oil, yield 0.08 to 0.13 percent); United States Dispensatory, Aqua Aurantii Florum (the double, triple and quadruple grades).

Storage and shelf life

Bottle the water in dark glass, cap it tightly, and keep it in the refrigerator, where it lasts 6 to 12 months. The flavour is strongest in the first 3 to 4 months, so cooks should use the newest bottle first. There is no preservative in it, which is the whole point, and also the reason it lives in the fridge and not on the counter.

Three habits help. Let the sealed bottle rest for 48 hours before judging it; a faint cooked note on distillation day settles out. Freeze part of the batch in an ice-cube tray, one tablespoon per cube, for recipe-sized portions. And never store it in the copper still or in a copper vessel; copper is for the run, glass is for the shelf. Signs a bottle has turned: cloudiness, a sour or musty smell, or floating particles. Our hydrosol shelf life guide covers the fine print.

How to use orange blossom water in the kitchen

Start with one teaspoon per recipe and add it at the end, off the heat; heat drives the aroma off. Homemade water is stronger than many shop bottles, so taste before doubling.

• Syrups and pastry: the syrup for baklava and basbousa, ghoriba cookies, madeleines, pastry cream and rice pudding.
• Fruit: a teaspoon over sliced oranges with cinnamon, the Moroccan salad, or over any fruit salad.
• Drinks: a few drops in lemonade or sparkling water, and Lebanese white coffee, which is hot water with a teaspoon of blossom water and no coffee at all.
• Dairy and batter: whipped cream, yoghurt, pancake and crepe batter.

How to use it on skin and hair

Orange blossom water is the traditional gentle toner of the Mediterranean. Use it on a cotton pad after cleansing, as a face mist on a hot day, as an after-shave splash, as a pillow mist, or as a final hair rinse after shampoo. Keep the first 100 ml of the run for the face; it is the strongest cut. Patch test on the inner arm first if you have reactive skin, and treat it as a pleasant, fragrant water rather than a treatment. It makes no promises and neither do we.

What we see most often at CopperHolic

Most owners buy the still for rose water or lavender, and then write to us in March because their lemon tree is in bloom and the smell is unbearable to waste. Blossom runs are the best-smelling afternoon a copper still gives, and they cost nothing but a morning's picking. If you grow citrus and own a still, this is the batch that justifies both.

A tree drops its bloom whether you catch it or not. One morning with the still turns that loss into a year of bottles.

Which still size makes sense

The 5 litre still matches one backyard tree: 400 to 500 ml per run, light enough to lift with one hand, and the fastest to clean. Orchard keepers and market sellers with buckets of bloom want the 5 gallon, which collects 4 to 6 litres per run. Our hydrosol distillers page shows all three sizes side by side, and the size guide explains how to choose.

Frequently asked questions

Is orange blossom water the same as neroli hydrosol?

Yes. Neroli hydrosol, neroli water, orange flower water and fleur d'oranger are all names for the water condensed from distilling fresh orange blossoms. Perfumery suppliers use the neroli name, kitchens use orange blossom water, and the liquid is the same.

Can I use dried orange blossoms?

Yes, with lower expectations. Dried blossoms give a flatter, tea-like water and no oil film. Use 100 to 150 g of dried blossoms in place of 300 g fresh, and soak them in the still water for 20 to 30 minutes before heating. Buy food-grade, unsprayed blossoms, never potpourri.

Is supermarket orange blossom water the same thing?

Sometimes. The good imported brands are true distillates. Cheaper bottles are often water with added aroma. Yours will be fresher than either, and usually stronger, so taste before using the same amount a recipe written for a shop bottle calls for.

Can I use blossoms from a sprayed tree?

No. Anything sprayed on the tree rides over with the steam and ends up in the bottle. Use unsprayed blossoms or do not run the batch.

Why did I not get any neroli oil?

Because there is almost none to get. Fragrance houses quote neroli at roughly 1 kg of oil from 1,000 kg of blossoms, about 0.1 percent. From a 300 g home batch that is 0.2 to 0.4 ml in total, and most of it dissolves into the water. The water is the product; a golden film on the first bottle is a bonus, not the goal.

Can I use lemon, grapefruit or Meyer lemon blossoms?

Yes. Any unsprayed citrus in bloom distills the same way. Bitter orange is the classic perfumery flower, sweet orange is the usual backyard tree, and lemon and grapefruit blossoms make lighter waters with their own character.

How long does homemade orange blossom water last?

Stored in a dark glass bottle in the refrigerator it keeps for 6 to 12 months. It contains no preservative, so the fridge matters. Discard it if it turns cloudy, smells sour or musty, or shows floating particles.

How many blossoms do I need for a 5 litre still?

About 300 g of fresh blossoms and buds, which is roughly a colander full from one mature tree on a good morning. Use 400 to 500 g for a stronger water. Never fill the pot more than two-thirds.

What is petitgrain?

Petitgrain is the oil and water distilled from the leaves and twigs of the same citrus tree. It smells green and woody where neroli smells floral. Once the tree has finished blooming, a leaf run keeps the still busy.

Related guides & your still

• What to do with hydrosol: how to use floral waters at home
• How long does hydrosol last? Shelf life and storage
• How to choose a copper still for hydrosols and floral waters
• Everything a copper alembic still can make
• The 5 litre handcrafted copper alembic still
• Browse all copper hydrosol distillers
• Copper still yield calculator

One morning's bloom, 400 to 500 ml of the real thing. Start with the 5 litre still.