43rd Summer, 519 a.v.
The first thing that Sophia wanted to have ready for the official opening of her business was some form of insect repellent. The summer especially had bought an abundance of biting insects to Syka, and the residents seemed to be going through the stock in the Mercantile like there was no tomorrow. If she could figure out a way to easily make a simple version here in Syka, then they would no longer need to import it from elsewhere and risk running out of the stuff. She knew that the bugs would not let up with the change of the seasons.
She had been speaking to both Uta and Jansen about how to go about it, as they seemed to have the superior knowledge on the plants and their uses. While they all suspected there were many plants that would work, they both agreed that the citronella plant seemed to be of the best and most effective - Uta had noticed that bugs avoided landing on or near it. Sophia would have to experiment with other plants and the products she could make from them to see which bugs liked and avoided what. For now though, she would focus on making things from just the citronella plant, to keep it simple.
She had a citronella plant growing among the others on the platform next to her philtering lab. She hadn’t particularly noticed any bugs avoiding it, but it was surrounded by some of the more aromatic plants like lavender. While she knew that you could just crush the leaves and rub them on the skin with the sap, it would use up the plant very quickly. She decided to extract the oil from the plant to use in its pure form, or to mix into another type of product. It would be more potent than just crushing the plant, and in theory, much more effective at warding off the biting insects.
She gathered a generous handful of the citronella plant stems. Sophia was not really sure how much oil she would get from it - that was knowledge that she would obtain over time. If the coconut oil she made with Uta was anything to go by, she wouldn’t have much, but hopefully enough to start experimenting properly with. She took the stems into the lab and set them on the desk before moving over to the fireplace.
There was a small pile of very dry sticks next to the fireplace, and she arranged some of these with some coconut fibre beneath the empty pot that hung inside the fireplace. Next, Sophia took up her flint and steel and struck it a few times until a spark was generated that flicked onto the fibre to catch it alight. She tended the tiny flame for a few moments until it grew into a small fire, flickering happily in the grate. She stood, taking the pot with her and made her way back to the desk. It was a small pot, far too small for the cooking of food, but big enough for what she needed today. Sophia had a few different sizes of pots lined up next to the fire, though most of them were so far unused.
Into the small pot she poured a glug of olive oil. Unlike when she made the coconut oil, to extract the pure citronella it needed to be simmered in something else, and she had been told that olive oil was the best thing to use. Sophia had then asked how one would make olive oil, but she would have needed tools she didn’t have, like a grindstone. Thankfully olive oil was easy enough to import until perhaps one day she could make it herself.
There was nothing more to do in preparation, aside from drop the citronella stems and leaves into the olive oil. Sophia then set the pot over the fire she had made, placing the lid on upside down so that anything that condensed on it would drip back down into the mixture. All Sophia had to do now was wait. The oil would take at least four bells for the first simmer, she reckoned, she just had to check it every now and again.
She had been speaking to both Uta and Jansen about how to go about it, as they seemed to have the superior knowledge on the plants and their uses. While they all suspected there were many plants that would work, they both agreed that the citronella plant seemed to be of the best and most effective - Uta had noticed that bugs avoided landing on or near it. Sophia would have to experiment with other plants and the products she could make from them to see which bugs liked and avoided what. For now though, she would focus on making things from just the citronella plant, to keep it simple.
She had a citronella plant growing among the others on the platform next to her philtering lab. She hadn’t particularly noticed any bugs avoiding it, but it was surrounded by some of the more aromatic plants like lavender. While she knew that you could just crush the leaves and rub them on the skin with the sap, it would use up the plant very quickly. She decided to extract the oil from the plant to use in its pure form, or to mix into another type of product. It would be more potent than just crushing the plant, and in theory, much more effective at warding off the biting insects.
She gathered a generous handful of the citronella plant stems. Sophia was not really sure how much oil she would get from it - that was knowledge that she would obtain over time. If the coconut oil she made with Uta was anything to go by, she wouldn’t have much, but hopefully enough to start experimenting properly with. She took the stems into the lab and set them on the desk before moving over to the fireplace.
There was a small pile of very dry sticks next to the fireplace, and she arranged some of these with some coconut fibre beneath the empty pot that hung inside the fireplace. Next, Sophia took up her flint and steel and struck it a few times until a spark was generated that flicked onto the fibre to catch it alight. She tended the tiny flame for a few moments until it grew into a small fire, flickering happily in the grate. She stood, taking the pot with her and made her way back to the desk. It was a small pot, far too small for the cooking of food, but big enough for what she needed today. Sophia had a few different sizes of pots lined up next to the fire, though most of them were so far unused.
Into the small pot she poured a glug of olive oil. Unlike when she made the coconut oil, to extract the pure citronella it needed to be simmered in something else, and she had been told that olive oil was the best thing to use. Sophia had then asked how one would make olive oil, but she would have needed tools she didn’t have, like a grindstone. Thankfully olive oil was easy enough to import until perhaps one day she could make it herself.
There was nothing more to do in preparation, aside from drop the citronella stems and leaves into the olive oil. Sophia then set the pot over the fire she had made, placing the lid on upside down so that anything that condensed on it would drip back down into the mixture. All Sophia had to do now was wait. The oil would take at least four bells for the first simmer, she reckoned, she just had to check it every now and again.
