Читать книгу Perfumes and Their Preparation - George William Askinson - Страница 30

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This well-known spice comes from a tree, Caryophyllus aromaticus, native of the Moluccas, and largely cultivated at Zanzibar, Pemba, and elsewhere. It consists of the closed buds. The main essential of good quality is the greatest possible freshness, which may be recognized by the cloves being full, heavy, reddish-brown, and of a fatty aspect, and they must contain so much essential oil (about 18 per cent) that when crushed between the fingers the latter should be stained yellowish-brown. Before buying, this test should always be made, and attention paid to the fact whether the whitish dust is present in the wrinkles about the head. We have found in commerce cloves from which the essential oil had been fraudulently extracted with alcohol and hence were worthless; such cloves may be recognized by the faint odor and taste, but especially by the absence of the whitish dust.