Essential oils are the golden, all-natural choice many people go for when it comes to aromatherapy. We might think of invigorating scents like lavender, eucalyptus, and lemon as some of the most well-known essential oils. Citrus essential oils are some of the most popular essential oils thanks to their refreshing, light fragrance, and their antibacterial and healing properties. However, one might wonder why we don’t see essential oils derived from other fruits like apples, bananas, and strawberries. In this article, we will explain why that is the case and other ways you can get those delicious fruity fragrances.
What Is An Essential Oil
Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts obtained through methods such as steam distillation and cold pressing. These extracts capture the natural, potent fragrance and beneficial properties of the plant from which they are derived.
Why is Citrus Special?
Citrus fruits are unique from other fruits in their ability to produce essential oils. This is possible because the peels of citrus fruits are rich in oil glands that contain a high concentration of volatile oils containing fragrance compounds, vitamins, and antioxidants. Thus unlike most other essential oils, which are extracted through steam distillation, citrus oil is produced by cold-pressing the skins of citrus fruit (with the exception of lime oil which uses steam distillation). Manufacturers put the rinds into expression machines that puncture them and release the oils inside. Then, they filter the oil to remove any impurities before bottling it. The high yield of oil from the peel makes the extraction process efficient and commercially viable.
Why Do Non-citrus Fruits Lose Out?
Low Oil Content:
Non-citrus fruits generally have a much lower oil content compared to citrus fruits. Most of the aromatic compounds in non-citrus fruits are found in the fruit’s flesh, which contains an even higher percentage of water and sugars. After removing the water and sugars, the final essential oil yield is minimal, making extraction inefficient and impractical for commercial purposes.
Water-Soluble Aromatics:
The aromatic compounds in non-citrus fruits are typically water-soluble, meaning they do not separate easily from the fruit’s water content during distillation. This makes the isolation and extraction of the fragrance molecules difficult as essential oils must be separated from water.
Delicate Aromas:
The fragrances of non-citrus fruits are more delicate and less volatile than those of citrus fruits. These delicate aromas often do not survive the aggressive and high temperatures of the distillation intact. As a result, the final product does not capture the true essence of the fruit, unlike other essential oils.
Commercial Viability:
At the end of the day, from a commercial standpoint the low yield and poor quality of essential oils from non-citrus fruits make the production process inefficient and not commercially viable. The effort and resources required to extract these oils do not justify the meager end product, especially when compared to the abundant and cost-effective production of citrus essential oils.
How do Non-Citrus Fruit Scents Exist then?
So non-citrus fruits cannot produce essential oils, now what? Well, lucky for us, with the advent of technology, perfumers and other fragrance industries have found another way of incorporating those delicious fruity scents into our favorite products through synthetic compounds.
Made in a lab using various aldehydes and esters to produce the candy-like fruit fragrances that we may be familiar with, these highly concentrated fragrance oils are recreated to the best of the perfumer’s ability to mimic the actual or idealized scent of the desired fruit. These lab-created scents provide consistency, longevity, and versatility, all at a reasonable price point at a commercial scale, making them ideal for perfumes, cosmetics, and home fragrances. Synthetic fruit fragrances deliver the delightful and refreshing essence of non-citrus fruits year-round, without the limitations of seasonal availability or extraction difficulties. This means that should you desire purely natural ingredients, commercial products featuring these non-citrus fruit scents are most likely using synthetics to achieve this fragrance. However, synthetics do not make the product any less safe or effective. If you are interested in reading more on synthetic fragrances, you can check out our other article here!
Conclusion
The mystery behind the absence of non-citrus fruit essential oils boils down to scientific realities: low oil content, water-soluble aromatic compounds, and delicate fragrances that don’t survive distillation. These factors make the extraction of essential oils from non-citrus fruits impractical and thus why we can’t find these oils available on the market. However, alternatives like fruit extracts and infused oils still allow us to enjoy the delightful aromas of apples, strawberries, and bananas in our favorite products. By understanding these nuances, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the unique properties and world of essential oils, and the innovative efforts of the fragrance industry that allow us to enjoy these beloved scents.
