One of my lovely readers in Ghana has no access to commercial wild oregano oil, however she does have access to fresh wild oregano leaves – awesome!

Professional manufacturers use either steam distillation or cold-pressing methods to extract the highest quality, most potent oregano oil from the leaves, which requires specialized equipment. But there are easier methods you can use at home that will still produce a decent extraction of wild oregano oil.

Here are two methods you can use to extract the wild oregano oil from the leaves of the plant. The first is the easiest, but less potent.

*Note: The oregano used needs to be Origanum Minutiflorum, and its potency is determined by climate and growing conditions. The designation “wild” oregano came from the discovery that the plants growing wild in tougher conditions tended to produce higher carvacrol content – typically these were found in rocky regions of Greece with full sun every day.

Easy Way to Make Wild Oregano Oil at Home

1. Wash 1 cup of wild oregano leaves and let them air dry completely.

2. Chop up the oregano leaves and put them in a sterile mason jar.

3. Pour 1 cup of organic olive oil or grapeseed oil over the oregano leaves and stir well.

4. Boil water in a saucepan (large enough to fit your mason jar). After it reaches a rolling boil, turn the water off.

5. Now place your mason jar (with oregano leaves and oil inside – no lid) into the pot of hot water and allow it to sit there for 15 minutes, stir once or twice.

6. Take the jar out of the hot water, screw on the lid and put it in sunny spot for 14 days. Shake the mixture once a day.

7. After 2 weeks, strain the leaves from the oil and place the oil in another sterile glass jar. Add 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil for added preservation and potency, if you like. Screw the lid on tight and store in a cool, dark place.

To Make a More Potent Wild Oregano Oil at Home

According to this article oils you could use (that do well heated for this extended time period) are: Olive oil, Coconut oil, Jojoba oil, Macadamia nut oil, Marula oil, Palm oil, Ojon oil, Babassu oil, and Baobab oil. You will need 1 cup of the oil of your choice.

1. Wash 2 cups of wild oregano leaves and let them air dry completely.

2. Heat up a double-boiler saucepan; with boiling water in the bottom pan and 1 cup of oil in the top pan. You want the water to be boiling, but not the oil.

3. Chop up the oregano leaves and then crush them using a pestle and mortar.

4. Add the crushed oregano leaves to the hot oil and stir well. Keep water boiling for 15 minutes (but make sure oil does NOT boil) and then turn heat down to simmer.

5. Simmer gently for 5 hours, adding more water as needed to the bottom pan. Make sure the oil doesn’t boil.

6. Now strain the leaves from the oil, use a cheesecloth the wring all the goodness from the leaves into the oil.

7. Bottle in a sterile glass jar. Add 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil for added preservation and potency, if you like. Screw the lid on tight and store in the fridge for a few days to really set the extract into the oil. Then store in a cool, dark place.

If you make either of these recipes, I’d love to hear how your finished product compares to the commercial brands of wild oregano oil that we sell in the Shoppe!