Re: Aromatic Group of the Month: January - Citrus

[Guest guest]

Citron and yellow grapefruit oil.

I'll launch this series of monthly aromatic group topics by

writing about two glorious essential oils I received from Aqua

Oleum. One was cedrat (French name) aka citron, Citrus medica,

the citron oil from Sicily, the other was AQ's yellow grapefruit

from Israel.

The cedrat was only the third I'd ever sampled, and I immediately

purchased a large quantity, and used it in my Light perfume. It

was such a glorious sparkling citrus ,with a great depth of

character, I can say it didn't compare to the two earlier samples

from other suppliers. The citron is prized for its peel, the

interior fruit often being too pithy, seedy and small to be of

use. I don't have the exact variety of citron, so I've supplied

the Wikipedia page on citron at the bottom of this post for your

further study.

My organoleptic evaluation of the peel oil, cold pressed as are

most citrus oils, showed it could last up to an hour on the scent

strip. citrusy, lemony, fresh, grassy, sharp, green, round,

cool, rich, drydown soft.

For the yellow grapefruit, Citrus x paradisi, this was quite an

awakening. I typically use pink grapefruit because I find white

grapefruit rather insipid and nondescript. The yellow grapefruit

was yummy, zingy, citrusy and just plain lovely. I asked Alec,

and he explained that white grapefruit oil is typically the

*distilled* oil! I was under the assumption, mostly because I

didn't' dig deeper over the years, that it was cold pressed. The

WG oil is typically pale in color. The YG oil is a vibrant

yellow, as vibrant as the aroma. It smells like the peel of the

grapefruit when you scrape it with your nail, not dull, like the

WG oil.

Organoleptic evaluation of the YG oil: citrusy, lemony, soft,

rich, fresh, smooth. Drydown about 30 minutes.

Wikipedia for more botanical, cultural and historic information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit

Anya McCoy

http://AnyasGarden.com

http://PerfumeClasses.com

http://NaturalPerfumers.com

[Guest guest]

Great idea Anya!

One of my favourite citrus oils is Naartjie. In South Africa naartjies, a

favourite with children, opens the citrus season and the rugby season. As well

as serving as a snack during rugby matches there was a peculiar South African

rugby tradition of throwing naartjies at the opposition and players during rugby

matches. I have vivid memories of flying naartjies and the consequent scent that

filled the air after impact. Naartjie is a small citrus fruit with an

easily-peelable skin and easy-to-separate segments, much like the Japanese mikan

but normally with seeds and in fact the trees were formerly grown in South

Africa from seedlings, which caused much variation in fruit types. The word

Naartjie was used in South Africa since 1790 and is derived from the Tamil word

nartei meaning citrus.

Although it is most likely a cultivar of mandarin, and is also called; cold

hardy mandarin, satsuma mandarin, satsuma orange, and tangerine outside South

Africa, it does not smell like mandarine or Satsuma. The scent is a lot more

intense than any other citrus fruits. The scent is a deep sweet sparkling orange

with top notes of grapefruit, and blends of mandarine and sweet orange but it

also have unique scent characteristics that is particular to naartjie only. On

the scent strip the scent lasts for at least two hours. It blends particularly

well with spices and dark notes. Traditionally here in South Africa the dried

peel was used as a condiment in spicy dishes, to flavour teas, desserts and a

famous liqueur called Van der Hum.

Naartjie essential oil contains;

Methyl anthranilate - 1%

Sinsensal, citral, citronellal - 1%

y-Terpinene, limonene, myrcene, p-cymene - 90%

linalool, citronellol, octanol - 5%

If you want to buy Naartjie essential oil, look for the name Naartjie

specifically because it is always listed as Citrus reticulata which is the same

as mandarine and tangerine. I will do a follow up on my blog and give some

recipes with naartjies.

Best Fragrant Wishes for the New Year,

Sophia

http://africanaromatics.com/wordpress/

[Guest guest]

I love my Buddha's hand tincture.  It's from the Buddha's hand fruit Citrus

medicavar. sarcodactylis. The fruits show up in the Fresh Market about this time

of year. 

The tincture is more floral than citrusy but there's a bit of lemon and it's not

very long lasting but quite diffusive.  I peeled the fruit and packed it in a

canning jar, covered with organic grape alcohol and left it for about a week.  I

am going to experiment again this year as soon as they show up in the markets. 

I am wondering if leaving it a shorter time may bring out the florals more so

maybe a couple of batches.  Either way, its glorious and strong, a great

topnote!

For photos, you can see my blog about it at

http://bellyflowers.blogspot.com/2010/12/buddhas-hand-tincture.html

I am also working with a lovely clementine oil - really sweet and beautiful.

Elise

[Guest guest]

Here on the other side of the world, I recently (a year ago) moved to a

house with a grapefruit tree and a satsuma mandarin tree - both enormous

and prolific. There's also a smaller lemon tree. I'm not sure what it's

like in other parts of the world - but in New Zealand, lots of us have a

lemon tree in our back yard, and at some times of year surplus lemons

almost become a minor currency.

I don't know what cultivars any of the trees are, but the mandarin has a

light, sweet aroma, without the depth and richness of the mandarins that

Sophia is describing in her post .

I've been experimenting with citrus -

* Tried a small enfleurage with the grapefruit flowers. I found that they

quickly develop a slightly harsh note, and I haven't been able to capture

the beautiful fresh, soft part of the scent that wafts in clouds round the

tree.

* Tried distilling a small amount of essential oil from the grapefruit

skins. I'm new to this, and don't know what I'm doing at all yet, but I got

a very tiny amount of oil (just a couple of drops really!) - and it was

amazing. I'd never quite experienced anything like it.So bright I could

almost see flashes as I sniffed it. Is this how super fresh, just-distilled

citrus always smells?!

* I tried steam distilling a mandarin petitgrain hydrosol. I haven't got

the knack of that yet!!! It was a bit of a disaster. The steam didn't reach

all parts of the plant matter - I suppose I didn't break it up enough. I

think I also had my temperature wrong. Not much came out, and what did had

that horrible burnt plant smell.

It has been interesting to me to realise that distilling a really good

hysdrosol is just as hard as distilling essential oil (if not harder!)

I'm thinking of buying Jeanne Rose's book on distilling from her website.

(Any recommendations of that or other books welcome.)

Well, those are my efforts with citrus so far. I would LOVE to try and grow

a lime tree, but I've heard they need a hotter climate than many other

citrus trees?

Best wishes

Johanna

[Guest guest]

* Tried distilling a small amount of essential oil from the grapefruit

skins. I'm new to this, and don't know what I'm doing at all yet, but I got

a very tiny amount of oil (just a couple of drops really!) - and it was

amazing. I'd never quite experienced anything like it.So bright I could

almost see flashes as I sniffed it. Is this how super fresh, just-distilled

citrus always smells?!

* I tried steam distilling a mandarin petitgrain hydrosol. I haven't got

the knack of that yet!!! It was a bit of a disaster. The steam didn't reach

all parts of the plant matter - I suppose I didn't break it up enough. I

think I also had my temperature wrong. Not much came out, and what did had

that horrible burnt plant smell.

Best wishes

Johanna

Hi Johanna -

Give the mandarin petitgrain hydrosol some time to age.  I always get a 'cooked

leaves' smell with the petitgrains and sometimes it goes away.  On the other

hand, mandarin leaves and stems may not have much oil in them either.  I also

have a hard time with packing my still and keeping the temperature right.

I bought a five pound bag of persian limes at Costco last year and distilled the

peels and the juice separately.  The peel essential oil is very bright and very

much like smelling a lime.  I like it a lot but am not sure how I would use it. 

The juice distillation is quite bitter, not like the lime essence EOs I have

smelled. 

Sounds like you're having fun, which is what it's all about!

Elise

[Guest guest]

Hi Folks....

The Citrus....Is hard to say which is a favorite....As an essential oil,

they are a strange class, many pressed from the peel (where the glands

are), rather than distilled...Still, there are others....

Bright, cheerful, essences...Some very light and flighty, uplifting, and

some with a mellower undertone, almost calming.......

I guess the one I hold most in awe, is the bitter orange, Citrus

aurantium (var amara?)...

From this comes...

Bitter Orange EO

Neroli

Petitgrain

Petitgrain sur Fleur

Orange Flower Absolute

An interesting thing, there has been, over a period of time, different

nomenclature, applied to particular varieties or renditions of these

essences...I never have figured out how much of this is actual, or

romancing the product....

Many years ago, I received a small sample of orange flower absolute from

Liberty Natural Products that was the most stunning floral absolute I

have ever experienced...It erased all current mental processes when

taking a sniff....Immersed you in its beauty, for seconds of Eternity....

Tried to order more, resulted in a long wait, and I suspect, another

batch...Was not the same...

One of the several Holy Grails I seek...

A side note....When one speaks of Petitgrain, one usually thinks of the

bitter orange Petitgrain, that is, a distillation of the leaves and

twigs...The sur Fleur is a co distill of same with blossoms...

Actually, I've heard of Petitgrains of other Citruses, that is, leaf and

twig distillations, but they do not seem to be that common...

So many essences....So little Time....And Money....

--

W. Bourbonais

L'Hermite Aromatique

A.J.P. (GIA)

[Guest guest]

To: " NaturalPerfumery " <NaturalPerfumery >

Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 3:59 PM

Subject: Re: Aromatic Group of the Month: January - Citrus

 

 

I bought a five pound bag of persian limes at Costco last year and distilled the

peels and the juice separately.  The peel essential oil is very bright and very

much like smelling a lime.  I like it a lot but am not sure how I would use

it.  The juice distillation is quite bitter, not like the lime essence EOs I

have smelled. 

Sounds like you're having fun, which is what it's all about!

Elise

I use lime all the time!  I think it's my favorite citrus.  I used it in Eros

and Zanzibar.

[Guest guest]

Sweet Orange Citrus sinensis - is cheap, versatile, homely,

heart-warming and very useful to companies that sell premixed essential

oil blends as it is such a cheap bulking agent (hence D Limonene -

extracted citrus terpene used as a domestic cleaner and polishing fluid).

Blood Orange - Citrus Aurantium Dulcis is intensely uplifting while

creating an intimate state of sensory arousal (not sexual as much as

aliveness).

Mandarin oil - Citrus reticulata is a catalyst for helping sad children

find their way back to happiness (sad children of any age), I believe

the smell of mandarin repairs the sorrows of deep heartache and restores

innocent tranquil states, it eases us out of misery. My 19 year old

daughter (an emotional Cancerian has been raised on mandarin oil). I

have a private stock perfume called Monsoon made with Mandarin oil -

blended with cardamon, cinnamon, cypress, old patchouli and rose otto,

it's 5 years old and it just keeps getting better and better.

Oranges are good for soccer players at half time...

regards,

Teone

>

[Guest guest]

>

> * I tried steam distilling a mandarin petitgrain hydrosol. I haven't got

> the knack of that yet!!! It was a bit of a disaster. The steam didn't reach

> all parts of the plant matter - I suppose I didn't break it up enough. I

> think I also had my temperature wrong. Not much came out, and what did had

> that horrible burnt plant smell.

>

> It has been interesting to me to realise that distilling a really good

> hysdrosol is just as hard as distilling essential oil (if not harder!)

> I'm thinking of buying Jeanne Rose's book on distilling from her website.

> (Any recommendations of that or other books welcome.)

>

> Well, those are my efforts with citrus so far. I would LOVE to try and grow

> a lime tree, but I've heard they need a hotter climate than many other

> citrus trees?

>

> Best wishes

> Johanna

Paraguay is a big producer of low end Petitgrain. Higher quality Petitgrain

comes from France and Italy. Petitgrain has a strong, bitter-sweet, floral and

somewhat woody odor, sometimes vegetative (bad), dry and a bit leathery. 80% of

the yield is made up of linalyl acetate and linaloöl in a proportion of 2:1.

The woody smell is from the sesquiterpene alcohol, spathulenol. Aldehydes

contribute to the odorous principle, even though they are in small amounts.

Another important constituent is the pyrazines with their Galbanum-like green

notes.

It is important to mention that the trace components in Petitgrain leads to a

good scent and especially in perfumery where they are important when the scent

needs to be reconstituted.

Blossoms of the true bitter (sour) orange tree, Citrus aurantium Linnaeus,

subsp. amara L., on being distilled yield Neroli bigarade oil. If, on the other

hand, the leaves and petioles (leaf stalk) are distilled, oil and hydrosol of

petitgrain bigarade is obtained. The word petitgrain comes from a French word,

meaning the 'little' and 'seed, fruit or berry'. Oil of Petitgrain is also

distilled in Paraguay. However, in Paraguay the plant that is distilled is a

hybrid of the sweet and the bitter Orange that has gone wild and thus the oil

and hydrosol is of lower quality.

True Petitgrain oil and hydrosol should originate exclusively from the true

bitter Orange tree. These distillations show that the oil will have a relatively

high laevorotation and the presence of leaves from sweet Orange trees will

result in oils of lower laevorotation, or even dextrorotation.

The quality of Petitgrain depends on various factors:

1. The leaf material should originate exclusively from the bitter or sour Orange

tree.

2. The leaf material should not contain any wooden branches, nor any small

unripe fruit (in spite of the name).

3. The leaf material should be distilled rapidly and with direct steam that is

generated in a separate boiler. The leaves must not be immersed in water, as

this will cause hydrolysis of the linalyl acetate which is the most important

constituent. Properly distilled the oil and hydrosol will have a high ester

content.

4. The plants of Southern France bloom in May and June and this cutting is used

for Neroli production. While the leaves and petioles are harvested from the

pruning after the Neroli harvest which is from late June to October.

Petitgrain oil and hydrosol is thus produced from the Bitter Orange tree after

the harvest of the flowers (for Neroli) ; leaves and stalks are freshly picked

in July-October and freshly and immediately distilled for the best product.

Jeanne Rose

[Guest guest]

I must say that Wild Orange old is my current favorite citrus. It has this

piercing quality and smells more complex than sweet orange. It makes my mouth

tingle when I smell it - I like to use it to refresh my nose after longer

blending sessions. Lately I've been wearing it a lot blended simply with a good

jasmine sambac and cistus. My other favorite is Yellow mandarin - not as sweet

and round as red mandarin- and not as loud as some of the other citruses but it

has this certain suave quality that is very versatile. I just purchased some

Lemon Petitgrain from White Lotus after a trip to Arizona where I couldn't get

enough of a certain little Meyer Lemon Tree...wow! its my favorite petitgrain so

far..such a nice round lemon topnote and much less of the bitterness I find

offsetting in many other Petitgrains. If I could find Meyer Lemon oil I would

grab it in a moment...Lemur Intnl sells it by the liter from Madagascar, but I

really dont need a liter of lemon oil. Haven't distilled any citrus yet, but

lots of little restaurants around here use organic citrus for fresh juice and I

might try glean some...I saw a codistillate of lemon and melissa mentioned

somewhere and that was very appealing - apparently the melissa lent some good

tenacity and " verbena " heart notes to the mix.

Jess Ring

[Guest guest]

Jeanne:

I have always wonder: if they pick all the florets for Neroli, and the pruning

stalks and leaves for Petitgrain, how do they ensure a fresh stock for the next

harvest? Do they leave some of the flowers to come to fruition for seeds?

-RuhKewda

[Guest guest]

~~~

thank you for the info! petitgrain and it's variants are a primal force for me.

totem or old friend or emotional hit. gary said it:

" It erased all current mental processes when

taking a sniff....Immersed you in its beauty, for seconds of Eternity.... "

very much enjoying this! einsof PS: i am quoting this everywhere gary. fyi.

*grin*

[Guest guest]

 

I love my Buddha's hand tincture.  It's from the Buddha's hand fruit Citrus

medicavar. sarcodactylis. The fruits show up in the Fresh Market about this time

of year. 

The tincture is more floral than citrusy but there's a bit of lemon and it's not

very long lasting but quite diffusive.  I peeled the fruit and packed it in a

canning jar, covered with organic grape alcohol and left it for about a week. 

I am going to experiment again this year as soon as they show up in the

markets.  I am wondering if leaving it a shorter time may bring out the florals

more so maybe a couple of batches.  Either way, its glorious and strong, a

great topnote!

For photos, you can see my blog about it at

http://bellyflowers.blogspot.com/2010/12/buddhas-hand-tincture.html

I am also working with a lovely clementine oil - really sweet and beautiful.

Elise

MMmmm  clementine. So sweet, so juicy, so joyous!

I love the smell of Buddah's hand!  Soo lovely  Even if the freakish looking

fruit looks like some entity from an H.P. Lovecraft story!  Jeesh, I hope

Buddah's hand doesnt' look like that!

[Guest guest]

>Buddha's hand has an ancient history of being a temple offering in Cina for

around 3,00 years.  I put them on my offering shrine and they fragrance the

whole hiouse for 2 weeks maybe.. So I would wonder at which stage ripening would

be a great experiment to glean maybe three different batches beginning middle

and end. 

>Bb

>

[Guest guest]

>Buddha's hand has an ancient history of being a temple offering in Cina for

around 3,00 years.  I put them on my offering shrine and they fragrance the

whole hiouse for 2 weeks maybe.. So I would wonder at which stage ripening would

be a great experiment to glean maybe three different batches beginning middle

and end. 

>Bb

>

Yes Bb- I love to keep one on the counter to scent the house.  I was thinking

exactly as you are about testing different stages of ripening. I bought a couple

at the market a month or so ago and they were still green and not very

fragrant.  I think you have to catch them at the right ripeness.  Plus, the

tincture also seems to get more lemony and less floral if you leave the peels in

too long.  Mine was a bit more lemony than I wanted but the floral aspect has

really come out after about a year of aging. 

Elise

[Guest guest]

Elise the leaves and blossoms also tincture as well.  Unfortunatly my buddha

hand plant got SCALE and it has been 1 1/2 years now without a fruit as it made

the branches to thin or something so patiently waiting.  Gorgeous bush looks

like now.  So happy to hear you tried it!

>HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL

>Bb

>

[Guest guest]

uses orange peels for his distillation demonstration at the World

Alchemy Conference ( for Heartmagic distillers), you get ALOT of oil

from citrus. It is a most viable botanical for a small at home

distiller.

You should go for the Meyers lemon, it sounds like a great idea!

http://heartmagic.com/EssentialDistiller.html

Katlyn Breene

Mermade Magickal Arts (since 1984)

katmermade@...

http://www.mermadearts.com/

[Guest guest]

This distiller is actually in my price range.  Now, if only I could stop

stocking up on sandalwood oil and saving for that green frankincense :-)

 

Gregg

[Guest guest]

On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 9:59 AM, Elise Pearlstine

wrote:

> **

>

> Hi Johanna -

>

> Give the mandarin petitgrain hydrosol some time to age. I always get a

> 'cooked leaves' smell with the petitgrains and sometimes it goes away.

>

Hi Elise - thanks for that advice - will do. It hadn't occurred to me that

hydrosols might need time to age and mellow like oils or perfumes!

(Darn auto-spell-check keeps changing hydrosols to hydrofoils!)

> On the other hand, mandarin leaves and stems may not have much oil in them

> either. I also have a hard time with packing my still and keeping the

> temperature right.

>

>

Yes, and also sounds like from what Jeanne said that maybe I shouldn't have

put the twigs in? Just the leaves, and their stems? (And maybe broken up a

bit more.) It's good to know it's not just me - that it actually can be a

difficult thing to do.

I bought a five pound bag of persian limes at Costco last year and

> distilled the peels and the juice separately. The peel essential oil is

> very bright and very much like smelling a lime. I like it a lot but am not

> sure how I would use it. The juice distillation is quite bitter, not like

> the lime essence EOs I have smelled.

>

> Sounds like you're having fun, which is what it's all about!

>

True, true ... It's definitely absorbing. I can see how it might become

all-consuming if you let it! (Or had the time!)

Thanks again.

Johanna

[Guest guest]

> **

>

> I

> have a private stock perfume called Monsoon made with Mandarin oil -

> blended with cardamon, cinnamon, cypress, old patchouli and rose otto,

> it's 5 years old and it just keeps getting better and better.

>

>

That sounds delicious!

> Oranges are good for soccer players at half time...

>

I'm only now realising how widespread around the world, and in all sorts of

sports, the tradition of oranges at half time is! They are a beloved part

of the NZ rugby tradition as well!

Best wishes

Johanna

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for this whole very informative post, Jeanne. Brilliant.

Best wishes

Johanna