Black Pepper Oil

#### Pepper Oil, Black. The essential oil of black pepper is produced by steam distillation of dried, crushed but not quite ripe fruits of the pepper vine, **Piper Nigrum**. The plant is a native of the damp jungles of southern and southeastern India, possibly also the Indonesian islands known as the Sunda islands. It was cultivated more than 2000 years ago in the same areas, and today, the centers of cultivation are still the Indonesian islands, India, Malaya and Indochina. "Smaller" quantities of the fruit (i.e. less than 1000 metric tons per year) also come from Madagascar (Nossi-Bé), the Comoro islands and Thailand (Siam). In Madagascar (district of Sambirane in the northwest), in Nossi-Bé and the Comoro islands, smaller quantities of black pepper (and siftings from the cleaned fruits) are steam distilled in local stills. This is one of the very few "on-the-spot" distillations of pepper oil. Little, if any, pepper oil is distilled in the main producing areas of the fruits. The fruits are exported by the tens of thousands of tons to all parts of the world. Although India and Indonesia, China and Japan are large consumers, about 20,000 metric tons are annually shipped to the U.S.A. to cover the American consumption. Only a very small portion of all the black pepper produced is distilled to yield essential oil. Distillation is undertaken in Europe and the U.S.A., mainly by the specialists in spice oil distillation. The so-called "Lampong" black pepper is generally preferred for distillation. Siftings and unattractive looking black pepper fruits may also be distilled and will yield good oils, provided the siftings are fresh. Thus, the Nossi-Bé oils, distilled "on-the-spot" from siftings, are often very good oils. Two other grades of pepper oil are produced in Nossi-Bé: light and heavy oils. The former consisting of foreruns, the latter of the high- boiling components of pepper oil. Oil of **Black Pepper **is an almost water-white or pale greenish-gray, mobile liquid which becomes more viscous on ageing. Its odor is fresh, dry- woody, warm-spicy, reminiscent not only of the odor of dried black pepper, but also of elemi, cubeb and other essential oils of high terpenesesquiterpene content. The flavor of the oil is surprisingly flat, somewhat dry-woody. At high concentration, the taste is slightly bitter. When more dilute, it presents only a mild spiciness. The essential oil has no pungency at all since the pungent principles of black pepper are not distillable with steam (see **Pepper**** ****Oleoresin**, next). The trade distinguishes between at least two types of pepper oil (as mentioned above). The light type presents the typical flavor of freshly crushed pepper (from the grinder, etc.) but it has no tenacity and deteriorates rapidly. The delightfully fresh "top" vanishes after a few months of ageing even under the best storage conditions. The "heavy" type of black pepper oil is inferior in respect to naturalness, but superior in stability and tenacity. It is this type of pepper oil which is imitated with **Schinus**** ****Molle **and similar essential oils. Oil of **Black**** ****Pepper**** **is used primarily in flavor work as a modifier for other spice flavors where pungency is not wanted or needed. Seasonings, spice sauces and dressings, meat and other canned food are often flavored with black pepper oil and other spice oils. The suggested use level would be about 1.00 to 2.00 mg% with wide limits and variations for the use in various liquid or dry media (thick sauces, vinegars, powder flavors, etc.). The **Minimum**** ****Perceptible**** **is 0.20 to 0.50 mg%. These figures are based upon good grades of European-distilled "total" oils. In perfumery, the oil gives interesting effects with eugenol and isoeugenol, e.g. in carnation and rose bases, in Oriental fragrances, or in modern, dry-aldehydic bases, ambres, etc. The effect in a rose base is particularly interesting. Although **Phellandrene **is one of the main constituents of the oil, it seems impossible to obtain a similar effect with pure phellandrene (isolated from other essential oils) or with substitutes for black pepper oil. The oil is often adulterated with phellandrene, pinene, limonene, oil of **Schinus Molle**, atractylis concrète oil, elemi oil, cedrela oil, sesquiterpenes from clove oils, eucalyptus dives oil (particularly the variety "A"), copaiba balsam oil, etc. **Cubeb**** ****Oil**, which years ago was a favorite means of adulteration, is no longer used in this way. More often, however, the buyer will just find himself faced with a poor grade of pepper oil. An olfactory and organoleptic test is necessary to evaluate a sample of Black Pepper Oil. The latter test can, of course, be left out in the case where the oil will be used for perfumes only. In normal times, the oil is available in almost any quantity required.