Is Spicy Notes natural or synthetic?

A fantasy or concept note, not a single material.

Spicy Notes

AccordSPICESspicy · warm · rich

Seven perfumesOne of them is looking at you

HeartPyramid

—Strength

—Tenacity

—Origins

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Specimen

Fantasy/Concept

Definition

Spicy notes are the scents of spices, among them clove, cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper. In perfumery, spices evoke warmth and a piquant side.

SPICY SWEET AMBER WARM FRESH DRY RESINOUS

Type: Accord
Olfactive family: Spicy
Subfamily: Warm spices
Cluster: Classic spices

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

Scent

Eugenol has a pleasant, spicy, clove-like scent. Cinnamaldehyde has a pungent, cinnamon-like odour. Cardamom is considered a cold spice, slightly camphorated, green, and terpenic. Cardamom has an aromatic, resinous fragrance. Black cardamom has a more smoky aroma, though not bitter, with a coolness comparable to mint. Coriander has a scent that is very rising, fresh like citrus, lemony, and slightly camphorated. Ginger is fresh, hesperidic, and rosy. The terpenes in the outer fruit layer of black pepper give citrusy, woody, and floral notes.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

The Full Story

Spices can be hot, but they are also vectors of freshness. The bright pink fruits of Schinus molle are often sold as pink peppercorns, although the tree is unrelated to black pepper.

Eugenol is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils, especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf. Clove leaf oil consists of 70-82% eugenol, and some amounts of beta Caryophyllene and alpha Humulene. Cinnamaldehyde gives cinnamon its flavor and odor. Cinnamaldehyde constitutes about 90% of cinnamon bark essential oil. Cinnamon also contains eugenol, found in the oil from leaves or bark of cinnamon trees.

The spiciness of black pepper is due to piperine, a different kind of spiciness from that of the capsaicin of chilli peppers. Black pepper contains between 4.6 and 9.7% piperine by mass, and white pepper slightly more than that. Caryophyllene is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that occurs widely in nature. Caryophyllene is one of the chemical compounds that contributes to the aroma of black pepper.

Zingerone is a major flavor component of ginger, providing the sweet flavor of cooked ginger. Fresh ginger does not contain zingerone, but it is produced by cooking or drying of the ginger root. Myristicin is a naturally occurring allylbenzene found in common herbs and spices such as nutmeg. Cardamom is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. In the 21st century, cardamom is cultivated mainly in India, Indonesia, and Guatemala. The essential oil content of cardamom seeds depends on storage conditions and may be as high as 8%. The oil is typically 45% α-terpineol, 27% myrcene and 8% limonene.

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Related: Allspice · Anethole · Anise · Asafoetida · Baking Spices · Bay Leaf · Biryani · Caraway

Did You Know?

Eugenol makes up 72-90% of the essential oil extracted from cloves and is the compound most responsible for clove aroma. Caryophyllene has a cyclobutane ring and a trans double bond in a nine-membered ring, both rarities in nature.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Clove oil is obtained by steam distillation of various parts of the clove tree. Bud oil comes from the flower buds, leaf oil from the leaves and stem oil from the twigs. Cinnamon essential oil can be prepared by roughly pounding the bark, macerating it in sea water, and then quickly distilling the whole. Crushing the berries of black pepper may also yield an essential oil by extraction. Piperine is typically extracted from black pepper with organic solvents such as dichloromethane or ethanol.

IFRA status

See note

No IFRA Standard for the material itself (51st Amendment)

In Perfumery

In the fragrance wheel, sweet spices are given as an example of the Floral Amber subfamily, within the Amber family (formerly called Oriental). Eugenol is used as a flavor or aroma ingredient in perfumes. Eugenol is subject to restrictions on its use in perfumery, as some people may become sensitised to it. Zingerone is used in perfumery to introduce spicy aromas. Piperine, which is responsible for the pungency of black pepper, is used in fragrances. Schinus molle, whose pink berries are sold as pink peppercorns, is also used as a raw material in perfumery. The spicy side of ginger can sometimes give a soapy scent to perfumes.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02signature note

03volume builder

04freshness

Available as

fragrance accord