Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-23
Extracts Which Are Not What
Names Imply.
PROCESSES OF PRODUCTION
Most of the Preparations Declared
to Be Artificial.
VANILLA IS GENUINE ARTICLE
Most Popular Also, Constituting
ree-Fourths Of Output-Lemon
Prime Favorite.

How 1avoring extracts are made is de-
scribed In a bulletin issued by the De-
partment of Agriculture. While there is
no way in which the information con-
tanned in the paper can be made use of
by the housekeeper. IT is regarded as in
teresting for her to know how the ex-
tracts she handles daily are made and
whence they come.
1t Is a remarkable fact that the ex-
tracts of lemon and vanilla are most
widely used, constituting more than %
per cent Of the whole. They are among
the comparatively few, too, that are
made. as their names imply, from the
fruits themselves. The other fiavors are
nearly always artificial. and some OF them
cannot be made at all from the fruits
whose names they bear. Orange, winter
green and peppermint are among the few
exceptions to this rule. but when the vast
number of other extracts Is taken into
consideration and il Is remembered that
lemon and vanilla constitute 30 per cent
of the output. 1t will be seen that there
is comparatively small bulk of the other
favorS used
Vanilla comprises three times much
of the worlds consumption of flavoring
extracts as do all the rest OF the havors
put together. 1t is rather curious 1act
that the havoring is purely an American
institution, though owing to its .conven-
lent form the use of the extract, real
and artificial. Is extending over the CIV
ilzed world. 1t may be taken for grant
ed however. that all of the pineapple,
peach, strawberry and many other navors
used are artificial, as an acceptable flavor
ing extract cannot be made from these
fruits.
Source of the Vanilla Bean.
All real vanilla is made from the va
nilla bean. which came originally from
Mexico, where the best grades of beans
are still produced. 1t was discovered In
Mexico as far back as 1875 by Francis
can friar. Bernhardino de Sahagan. Those
Franciscan friars seem to have been the
original reporters, and discovered most
things that were worth discovering among
the natives of Mexico and South Amer
lea. The Mexicans were at that time US
ing it exclusively to hvor cocoa, and the
bean was introduced into Europe, where
it was used for havoring and where at
tempts were made to grow 1t. The vine,
however, requires a tropical climate. and
although it has now spread to many of
the tropical countries of the world. the
Mexican bean still holds its superiority
over all the others. There are consider
able quantities produced in the valleys Of
the Amazon and in Tahiti. as well as In
Java and Borneo. but they are smaller
than Mexican beans and not Of such good
flavor.
The vanilla vine has to be three years
old before it produces beans. and, as In
the case Of many other primitive indus
tries. there has been little progress in
preparing 1t since it was first discovered.
The natives in Mexico used to depend en-
but this practice has been changed. and
now the flowers are fertilized by hand SO
that the grower can regulate the number
of beans that each plant produces. Curl
ously enough. the bean has no odor or
flavor when it Is first matured. This Is
produced entirely during it's fermentation.
The beans are wrapped In small bundles
and exported at about 80 cents per bean.
so that the crop Is a very valuable one.
Process Of Manufacture.
When the bean is manufactured into
extract it is simply soaked In 95 per cent
alcohol and the favoring thus obtained.
but the high-grade havoring extract Is at
decided premium on the market, and
all sorts of diluted solutions are used.
some of which contain q little vanilla
and some none at all. The refuse beans
are sometimes pressed with glycerin and
sugar to give sweetness In body to the
compound and sometimes the alleged ex-
tract is simply q synthetic combination
made in laboratory, and has never been
near a vanilla plantation.
High-grade lemon extract is made with
alcohol in much the same way, but the
preliminaries, of course, are very DIFF
ferent. The oil of lemon Is extracted en-
tirely from the rinds of the fruit, and
is made almost exclusively in the Island
of Sicily. where the chief lemon crop of
the world is raised. The extract Is made
entirely from the culls of the lemons.
which for any reason are not mt for ex-
port.
All the work on the Island Of Sicily Is
done by hand
Women and boys are employed to cut
the fruit into sections while men press
.rt,-l.,
earthenware jar and pour off the oil as
1t accumulates above the juice and water
in the jar. One man will produce from
two to three pounds of oil of lemon in q
day. For this he is paid from 40 to GO
cents, and the Oil itself sells for about 81
pound. This is called hand-pressed oil.
but there was about per cent of the oil
manufactured by machinery in Calabria
on the mainland of Italy till that region
was wiped out by the recent earthquake.
These Are Made From Plants.
The other main favoring extracts
which are made from the real plants are
wintergreen and peppermint. They are
produced almost exclusively In the United
States The chief scene OF peppermint
growing is in Michigan. northern In-iana
and Wayne county, n. Y. Liquid win
tergreen is produced very largely around
White Haven. Pa. though there are a
In both cases the extract is made by
passing steam through large watts con-
tanning the plant and condensing the re-
sulung water and oil in a regular worm
still, such as is used for making whisky.
The water is drawn of the bottom and
the resulting extract Is saved.
Almond extract is the other principal
product which is made outside Of lab
oratory and can be manufactured from
almost anything The chief material used
is apricot and peach kernels, and both of
these contain a large quantity Of hydro
ciennic acid which Is about the most
deadly poison known. This Is removed
by treatment of lime and with copperas
after which the extract is made with al
cohOl.
In nearly all these cases coloring matter
is used to bring the extracts up to the
appearance that II Is supposed by the con-
sumner to have. AS q matter Of fact,
however, several of the extracts are al
most clorless when In the pure state.
The housewife can rest assured that
almost everything else in the way of
Eavoring extract tnat she uses is MADE
in a laboratory from the humble cut
useful coal tar, and bears no relation to