ABSTRACT
Today citrus fruit is the most important fruit crop in the world. Its production exceeds by far that of all other fruits: apples, pears, etc. The main reasons for this outstanding position of citrus fruits are their desirable and refreshing taste and flavor, as well as their positive effect on human health and vitality. Therefore, it is not surprising that citrus fruits are a significant item in modern diet. Additionally citrus is one of the most appreciated flavors for soft drinks and confectionery and is accepted all over the world. In 2001 about 71 million tons of citrus fruits was produced globally. The most important species by far are oranges, accounting for more than two-thirds of the whole production. Approximately 60% of the orange crop is consumed as fresh fruits, the remaining 40% are processed to juice, mainly concentrated juice, and several by-products, such as peel oil, essence oil, and aqueous essence. These by-products exhibit the characteristic flavor of orange. Therefore, they are interesting raw materials for the flavor and fragrance industries. Orange essence oil is obtained during production of concentrated orange juice. During the concentration step, flavor compounds are stripped from the juice together with the water. These vapors are condensed and collected as aroma essence, which is subsequently separated into aqueous essence and essence oil. Essence oil contains the oilsoluble volatiles and is characterized by fresh, floral, sweet, and fruity flavor attributes. The yield of orange essence oil is about 100 mg/kg orange fruit.
