Abstract
Most foods derive their characteristic flavour from chemicals which are present at levels ranging from parts per billion to parts per million. On the broad canvas of nature, some plant species evolved with far higher levels of flavour chemicals than others. Dried clove buds, for example, contain 12% eugenol. Such herbs and spices have been used from very early times to flavour other foods. With the discovery of distillation, it became possible to separate the flavour chemical mixture from the botanical material, and essential oils as commodities were born.
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Wright, J. (1991). Essential oils. In: Ashurst, P.R. (eds) Food Flavorings. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2161-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2161-7_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5903-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-2161-7
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