THE PRODUCT AND ITS STORY
It is an evergreen shrub up to 3 m tall, with thorny branches and light green leaves, and fragrant flowers. As with all citrus fruits, there are many subvarieties and grafts. The "real" lemon tree derives from a single ancestral hybrid between male cedar and female bitter orange (therefore with a gene pool from cedar, mandarin and pomelo)
It is a mobile liquid of straw yellow color, up to medium green depending on the ripeness of the flavedo, with a light, fresh, sweet odor. Good quality and fresh EOs have a fresh and lemony fragrance, very fine and delicate, of superior quality, with powerfully fresh top notes, almost pungent at first impression, revealing a sweeter and rounder character after 5 minutes, but still with a freshness of ozone or lemon sorbet.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Dominated by hydrocarbon monoterpenes (90%) such as (+)-limonene (64%), beta-pinene (13%), gamma-terpinene (12%), and alpha-pinene (10%).
The aroma is characterized by geranial (0.7%) and neral (0.8%), and other important active compounds are alpha-terpineol (0.1-8%), p-cymene (tr.2.3%) and terpinen-4-ol ( tr.-2%). The non-volatile compounds (1.5-4%) are: oxypeucedanin (0.09-0.82%), bergamottin (0.16-0.54%), bergaptol, bergaptene (0.0001-0.035%), citroptene (0.05-0.17%), 8-geranoxy- psoralen (0.01-0.045%).
HOW AND WHEN TO USE IT
It is used in soaps, detergents, perfumes, cosmetics and household cleaning products. Due to its sweet fruity and very refreshing note it is one of the most typical ingredients in citrus colognes, "Eau de Verveine" etc. and as a deodorant and ingredient in countless perfumes. It combines with other citrus fruits, lavender, elemi, petitgrain, neroli, etc. The average dose allowed in cosmetic creams is 0.15%; the average dose allowed in perfumes is 1.0%.
It has a masking effect on annoying odors (fish). Added to vanillin and other flavorings, it forms the basis of the flavor of custard, and can be added to any recipe that requires lemon peel. The doses normally used are very varied, from 1.5 % to 10.0% in aqueous solution with about 12% sugar, but it is always useful to add some lemon juice to give the real impression of lemon. For any food preparation, it is strongly recommended to dilute the essential oil before use, at concentrations of 0.3-0.6%. The material for diluting the oil will depend on the final use: in fatty dishes it will be diluted in oil or butter, for sweet dishes you can make a syrup or use honey, for liqueurs or dishes that do not require fats, you can use ethyl alcohol
CAUTIONS
EO with low risk of phototoxicity, non-irritating, Maximum skin dose to avoid phototoxicity equal to 2%, but higher doses can be used if the skin is not exposed to solar radiation for 12 hours after application. Do not use on skin at doses higher than 2%, or on sensitive or damaged skin. Do not use old or oxidized OE.