The 1901 Cookbook Archive
No. 3598 — Clarifying Hempseed Oil
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 3598 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
To clarify 10 pounds of hempseed oil, the period source takes one heaped tablespoon crushed saltpetre and stirs it into one glass of oil.
The mixture was brought to the boil six or seven times and poured hot into a bottle containing the remaining 10 pounds oil. The bottle was deliberately left partly empty.
The neck was tied with animal bladder pierced with a thick pin, and the bottle was kept warm. The author says the oil becomes as pale as poppyseed oil; it was decanted from the sediment and stored cool with a similarly pierced covering.
Historical editorial note: Saltpetre treatment, pouring hot oil into glass and improvised animal-bladder seals are not validated modern food processing methods; do not treat the resulting oil as safe to eat.
Original source: Read Russian recipe No. 3598. Historical quantities and terminology are retained. See the measurements guide. Period preparation and storage methods are not modern safety guidance.