Curcuma Oil

#### Curcuma Oil. The plant, **Curcuma**** ****Longa,**** **is related to the ginger plant which it also resembles. Curcuma is a native of the south Asian countries where it has been known and used for thousands of years as a spice and as a common house medicine. The plant is now cultivated extensively in India, Indonesia, southeast China, Formosa, the Philippines, Indochina and Japan. Distillation of oil takes place in India, China, Japan in or near the growing areas. Imported rhizomes of the curcuma plant are distilled in Europe and the U.S.A. **Curcuma**** ****Oil**** **is produced by steam distillation of the dried, comminuted rhizomes ("tubers") of the curcuma plant. The finely powdered rhizome is also used directly as a spice which is known under the name of **Turmeric**. This ingredient is responsible for the intensely yellow color of the world famous "Indian Curry Powder". This yellow color is particularly visible when moisture or water is present (in gravies, etc.). Curry powder is usually made up from capsicum (or paprika), black pepper, ginger, coriander, cardamom, clove, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. This spice blend is used all over the world in hundreds of international or local dishes, but above all the Indonesian "rijstafel" is spiced with curry powder and numerous other pungent additives. At wedding ceremonies in Indonesia the bride and groom tint their arms and waists with a dye of curcuma. **Curcuma Oil **is a yellow to dark orange-yellow liquid which occasionally shows a faintly blue fluorescence. The odor is usually spicy and fresh, reminiscent of sweet orange, ginger and galanga. The flavor is slightly pungent and bitter except in extreme dilution. The odor of Japanese curcuma oil is warm, dry-woody, powdery, camphoraceous and slightly peppery-spicy with a peculiar undertone reminiscent of the odor of Atlas cedarwood oil. The flavor of the Japanese oil is bitter, spicy and slightly burning. **Curcuma**** ****Oil **finds comparatively little use in flavor work since curry powder has not yet been replaced by a mixture of the respective essential oils or oleoresins. Curcuma oil can be used in certain types of perfumes where it introduces warm-woody, dry-powdery tonalities in Oriental bases and fantasy fragrances, etc. The oil blends well with cananga oil, cistus oil, elecampane, ginger, labdanum, orris "resin", etc. and with heliotropine, ionones, methylionones, nitromusks, etc. Although the spice itself is so extremely widely known, the essential oil seems to have failed to catch the interest of most perfumers and flavorists. The annual world production of **Curcuma Oil **is adjusted to the modest demand, which is estimated at not more than a few metric tons. A **Curcuma**** ****Absolute**** **is produced on demand by various Grasse houses and by a few internationally known specialists in spice extraction. See also **Curcuma Oleoresin.** **Curcuma**** **rhizomes are known in Europe under various names which can be translated as "yellow *root". *This name should not be confused with the American "yellowroot" which unfortunately also bears the name of "Indian turmeric" (note: *American-Indian!). *The American plant has the botanical name **Hydrastis Canadensis**. The rhizome of this plant contains two alkaloids of doubtful therapeutic effect. The plant which resembles the wind-flower (anemone), was used by the American Indians as a stomachic tonic, etc., and it is still used in world-wide medicine for its dubious hemostatic effect.