Extract
3631020
224583176
2008-07-09T14:56:39Z
74.34.64.168
/* Chemical-created essence */
{{update|date=June 2008}}
{{cleanup|date=June 2008}}
{{expert|date=June 2008}}
{{Grocers}}
An '''extract''' is a substance made by [[wikt:extracting|extracting]] a part of a [[raw material]], often by using a [[solvent]] such as [[ethanol]] or [[water]]. Extracts may be sold as [[tincture]]s or in [[powder]] form.
The [[Aroma compound|aromatic principles]] of many spices, nuts, herbs, fruits, etc., and some flowers, are marketed as extracts, among the best known of true extracts being [[almond]], [[cinnamon]], [[cloves]], [[ginger]], [[lemon]], [[nutmeg]], [[orange (fruit)|orange]], [[peppermint]], [[pistachio]], [[rose]], [[spearmint]], [[vanilla]], [[Violet (plant)|violet]], and [[wintergreen]].
==Extraction techniques==
The majority of natural essences are obtained by extracting the [[essential oil]] from the [[blossoms]], fruit, roots, etc., or the whole plants, through four techniques:
*[[Fruit press|Expression]] when the oil is very plentiful and easily obtained, as in lemon peel.
*[[Steeping|Absorption]] is generally accomplished by [[steeping]] in alcohol, as vanilla beans.
*[[Maceration]] is used to create smaller bits of the whole, as in making peppermint extract, etc.
*[[Distillation]] is used with maceration, but in many cases, it requires expert chemical knowledge and the erection of costly stills.
The distinctive flavors of nearly all fruits, in the popular acceptance of the word, are very desirable adjuncts to many food preparations, but there are only a few from which it is practicable to obtain a concentrated flavor extract of the necessary strength. Among those which lend themselves readily to the manufacture of "pure" extracts the most important are lemons, oranges and vanilla beans.
==Chemical-created essence==
A majority of other, concentrated fruit flavors, such as [[banana]], [[cherry]], [[currant]], [[peach]], [[pineapple]], [[raspberry]] and [[strawberry]], are produced by combinations of various [[ester]]s, together with special oils. The desired colors are generally obtained by the use of [[dye]]s. Among the esters most generally employed are [[ethyl acetate]] and [[ethyl butyrate]]. The chief factors in the production of artificial banana and pineapple extract, and also important in the manufacture of strawberry extract, are [[amyl acetate]] and [[amyl butyrate]], [[amyl alcohol]] being the principal constituent of that part of the alcohol obtained by the distillation of grain and potato starch, which is popularly known in the US as [[fusel oil]] and in Europe, generally by the title of potato oil.
Artificial extracts do not, as a rule, possess the delicacy of the fruit flavor, but they get sufficiently close to it to be of real service and convenience when true essences are unobtainable or considered to be too expensive.
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Flavor technology]]
[[Category:Food science]]
[[de:Drogenauszug]]
[[et:Tõmmis (leotis)]]
[[ja:エキス]]
[[ru:Экстракт]]
[[sq:Ekstrakti]]
[[uk:Екстракт]]