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Anextract (essence) is a substance made byextracting a part of araw material, often by using asolvent such asethanol,oil orwater. Extracts may be sold astinctures orabsolutes or dried and powdered.
Extracts are widely used in various industries, such asperfumes,cosmetics,pharmaceuticals, and thefood industry, among others.[1]
Thearomatic principles of many spices, nuts, herbs, fruits, etc., and some flowers, are marketed as extracts, among the best known of true extracts beingalmond,cinnamon,cloves,ginger,lemon,nutmeg,orange,peppermint,pistachio,rose,spearmint,vanilla,violet,rum, andwintergreen.
Most natural essences are obtained by extracting theessential oil from thefeedstock, such asblossoms,fruit, androots, or from intact plants through multiple techniques and methods:
The distinctive flavors of nearly all fruits are desirable adjuncts to many food preparations, but only a few are practical sources of sufficiently concentrated flavor extract, such as from lemons, oranges, and vanilla beans.
The majority of concentrated fruit flavors, such as banana, cherry, peach, pineapple, raspberry, and strawberry, are produced by combining a variety ofesters with special oils. Suitable coloring is generally obtained by the use ofdyes. Among the esters most generally employed areethyl acetate andethyl butyrate. The chief factors in the production of artificial banana, pineapple, and strawberry extract areamyl acetate andamyl butyrate.
Artificial extracts generally do not possess the delicacy of natural fruit flavor but usually taste sufficiently similar to be useful when true essences are unobtainable or too expensive.