Allspice and allspice essential oil in Mexico
The allspice is native to the Americas and the Cuetzalan area in Puebla, Mexico, is one of its natural habitats. The majority of the pepper is exported as peppercorns to European and Asian countries. Some of it is industrialized to obtain essential oils using the "steam entrainment" method.
Allspice is native to the Americas and the Cuetzalan area in Puebla, Mexico, is one of its natural habitats. Regional production fluctuates between 250 and 300 tons of dried pepper. Most of the pepper is exported as peppercorns to European and Asian countries. A small part is industrialized to obtain essential oils using the "steam dragging" method, which is free of chemical residues.
It is called fat pepper because it has a great resemblance to black pepper, but larger than it, it is also known as Tabasco pepper, Jamaica pepper, or Pimenta dioica, because it is precisely the dried fruit of the Pimenta Dioicia L. tree, native to Mexico and Central America. Within the Mexican territory, you can find it in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as in the center and southeast of the country,
When the harvest of the fat pepper arrives, the fruits are cut manually from the tree, then they are put to dry, either naturally or through artificial drying. When it is dry, a blower is used to separate the fat pepper from any foreign matter such as leaves or wood sticks.
This pepper is very versatile, its aroma, similar to that of other spices such as cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, and nutmeg, has given it the English name of "allspice" because it can be combined without losing its essence. This pepper is a good meat preservative.
In addition to flavoring food, both pepper, and the whole tree, in general, can be used as a flavoring agent, as an insecticide against the common corn weevil, and in the manufacture of cosmetics, essences, and perfumes. In the medicinal branch, the fat pepper is used as a local antiseptic, and an analgesic helps with gastrointestinal discomfort, controls bleeding, also improves liver problems.
About the essential oil of allspice
The method to obtain the essential oil is known as vapor entrainment, and it is natural because no organic synthesis products such as synthetic eugenol are added. The characteristics of the oil are of the chemical type "methyl eugenol-eugenol", that is to say, it has more concentration of "methyl-eugenol", which gives it a more delicate aroma, and is not as aggressive as is the case of the Jamaican pimento dit.
The essential oil can be channeled for testing in perfumeries, for seasoning use, or in the manufacture of candles, using between 0.5% and 5%, depending on the desired aromatic characteristics when lit. Note: this oil should NOT be used on the skin.
Its chromatography was done by capillary column, having helium as the carrier gas. Its appearance is pale yellow to liquid yellow, and it is soluble in kerosene oil but insoluble in water. The tariff fraction of this oil within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is 3302.90.0010.
