A Natural Perfumers Journal

Pink pepper oil; Shinus molle, is an oil that is steam distilled from the fruits of a tree called the Californian pepper tree or the peruvian pepper tree. The tree grows wild in many tropical regions. The fruit was first distilled for use in the perfumery trade when there was a scarcity of black pepper oil and it was used as a substitute. It is described by Steffan Arctander in his book Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin on page 583 as "...whose odor is fresh, woody-peppery, warm-spicy with a somewhat sharp or dry, smoky woody undertone." Black pepper oil; Piper nigrum, is a steam distilled oil from the fruits of the black pepper vine. The vine, piper nigrum, grows wild in parts of India. Most of the fruits from the peppercorn vine are used in the food industry and only a small fraction is actually distilled for the perfumery trade. Steffan Arctander in his book Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin on page 516 and 517 describes black pepper as ...