We continue the review of raw materials used in perfumery with the fruits of blackcurrant buds.
Origin, processing, benefits and use in perfumery and food flavoring - you will know everything about black currants.
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| Blackcurrant in Perfumery |
The history of black currants
Botanical name: Ribes nigrum
Botanical family: Saxifragaceae, Grossulariaceae
Main ingredients: allyl amyl glycolate, sabinene,
caryophyllene beta
This fruit was apparently known to the Greeks and Romans. Archaeologists of the 12th century could attest to its healing effects, especially as a remedy for gout attacks.
This tree did not appear in France until the end of the 16th century, but in fact the word black currant was born in the 18th century. Until then it was called poyvrier, no doubt because of its black berries.
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The origin of black currants
Even-skinned black fruits or berries usually form clusters. Blackcurrant buds, mainly grown in Burgundy, come from a tree called the blackcurrant or cashew tree, which can reach two meters in height.
Black currant is a bushy tree that grows wild in Northern Europe, as far as Lapland and Siberia.
Russia is the leading producer of black currants in the world, producing 300,000 tons of black currants per year, mainly for home consumption. France ranks 4th after Poland and the United Kingdom.
In France, Burgundy, the Loire Valley or the Rhône Valley, we see the highest production of blackcurrant buds, 70% of blackcurrant buds are destined for perfumery. Black currants are harvested from the end of November to the end of February.
It is very popular in Europe. The medicinal reputation before becomes one of the rare natural raw materials, even if more and more manufacturers or perfume houses create new natural fruit notes. There are different categories of fruity notes:
- Red fruits: black currants or black currant buds, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, wild strawberries, blueberries, blackberries.
- Yellow fruits: peaches, plums, apricots.
- Exotic fruits: coconut, mango, pineapple, banana, passion fruit.
- Watery fruits: melon, watermelon.
- Juicy fruits: pear, apple, lychee, kiwi.
- Others: fig.
Processing and production of raw black currants
In perfumery, this note was definitely used in the 1960s and 1970s. Blackcurrant absolute is obtained from blackcurrant buds by volatile solvent extraction to produce concrete. 1 kg of absolute requires 30 kg of blackcurrant buds. Mostly black currants are harvested by hand, due to expensive mechanization. Since a person can harvest only 1 kg of buds per day, the price of this raw material is quite high.
Benefits and uses of black currants
It is a popular product in pharmacopoeias from India to Europe. It is used by the pharmaceutical industry. It is said to have many benefits, both in the fruit, which is rich in vitamins C and B12, and in the leaves, which have antioxidant and laxative properties.
It is said to be effective against respiratory infections, migraines, flu, viral illnesses, rheumatism, osteoarthritis, and more.
It is also recommended to treat snakebite dogs as the leaves can treat insect bites.
Other uses of black currants
Black currants are widely used in baked goods (jelly, jam, ice cream, cakes, etc.) and are also very well known as a liqueur. Also called crème de cassis, it appeared in 1841. In Dijon, in the famous kir, a mixture of wine and liqueur, later in ratafia, an aperitif drink made from grape juice, alcohol and macerated blackcurrant buds.
The fame of black currants reached its peak when King Louis XV, stopping for lunch in Neuilly after a hunting trip, tasted ratafia for the first time and then presented it to the court.
Blackcurrant is also a raw material processed in Grasse, important in perfumery but also in food flavorings. Note that it is highly valued in the industry for its sour taste, as this note, very aromatic, is also fruity and sweet.
A museum is entirely dedicated to black currants south of Dijon in Nuits-Saint-Georges, at the Cassissium Museum.
Olfactory description of blackcurrant buds
Blackcurrant is one of the natural raw materials in the perfumery palette, first used by Guerlain in the perfume Chamade in 1969. This is a note that is somewhere between a green scent and a red fruit scent. It sometimes has unpleasant accents when it is badly dosed or poorly orchestrated, it can smell like cat urine, sweat or even the smell of boxwood bushes.
It is a very powerful raw material that crosses the entire olfactory pyramid and that we feel from the top notes.
Different characteristics of black currants: green, sulphurous, fruity, slightly woody, sweet, vinous, bitter, balsamic.
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The use of black currants in perfumery
Blackcurrant bud is often used in citrus, floral or oriental perfumes.
A perfume containing black currant buds
Here is a perfume that contains blackcurrant buds:
- Guerlain Chamade
- Guerlain Champs-Élysées
- Aqua Allegoria: Guerlain in Pamplona
- Van Cleef first
- Cardino rose
- Great Balkiss from The Different Company
- Diptyque shade in water
- Hermes Amazon
- Nina Ricci Midnight Beauty
- Saint Laurent is in love again
- Parfum d'Empire Corsica Furiosa
- Angel and Angelic Innocence by Mugler
- Bahisht Aroma Paris Oscar
Bahisht Aroma Perfume
Discover the Bahisht Aroma brand with collections of orange
blossom, musk and vanilla. You can try them with Discovery Boxes (5 Eau de
Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials in a way you have never
smelled them before.
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