20.1: Introduction

Experimental Objectives: To extract the essential oils from various spices by steam distillation and characterize the structures using spectroscopy data.

Readings: Pages 502-506 from the laboratory textbook, as indicated in the syllabus. 

Advance Preparation (one week earlier)

Your lab instructor will assign one of the following spices to each group:

a) Cinnamon

b) Cumin

c) Caraway

1. Weigh 2g of the spice and crack it into smaller pieces. There is no need to grind it into a powder or a paste, just smaller pieces. 

2. Place the cracked spice into an erlenmeyer flask and add 15mL water. Swirl a few times.

3. Seal the flask with parafilm or aluminum foil and allow it to stand in the drawer for a week.