Black Currant materials

#### Blackcurrant. Various flavor materials are produced from the buds of the shrub, **Ribes**** ****Nigrum**, the black currant bush. A **Black**** ****Currant**** ****Tincture**** **is prepared by maceration. The tincture is not a commercial article, and the flavor house will usually have to collect the flower-buds from its own plantations for this purpose. The tincture is used in the flavoring of certain types of liqueurs. **Black Currant Absolute **is produced by extraction of the buds with benzene or petroleum ether. The extract is a concrète which is subsequently re-extracted with alcohol to yield an absolute. The absolute is a viscous liquid of dark green color and powerful spicy-woody odor. There is a slightly phenolic undertone and the tenacity is not outstanding. Quantitatively, the main constituents are monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. These are not responsible for the characteristic odor of the absolute. **Black**** ****Currant**** ****Absolute**** **is prepared in France, occasionally in Holland. **Black Currant Oil**, also known as **Niribine Oil **(by rearranging the latin name of the plant), is steam distilled from the flower-buds of the above shrub. **Ribes Nigrum **is cultivated in Northern Europe, particularly in France, Holland, Belgium, England, Denmark, Germany, and the Baltic States. The latter countries were once big producers of berries. **Black**** ****Currant Oil**** **is produced in Holland and France. The oil is almost colorless, mobile and of a distinctly terpenic odor, reminiscent of the terpenes in nutmeg, neroli, basil, or marjoram oils. Its high price and poor tenacity make its application rather limited, and it is doubtful whether this oil will ever attain any importance in perfumery or flavor work.