Apricot

About apricot

The fruit is Prunus armeniaca, domesticated in Central Asia and China, but a perfumer cannot buy its smell. No natural apricot essential oil exists, and according to Pairfum the flesh yields virtually no extractable oil. What a label calls apricot is a reconstruction. One fragrance glossary lists gamma-decalactone, gamma-undecalactone, linalool, benzaldehyde and beta-ionone as the usual parts of such an accord, and notes that osmanthus often joins them.

Real apricots have been taken apart in the lab. A study of the developing fruit found that aldehydes and terpenes drop significantly over the whole development period, while lactones and apocarotenoids climb as the fruit ripens. In the same study beta-ionone is described as flowery and violet-like.

The pit has its own chemistry. Amygdalin in the kernel breaks down into glucose, benzaldehyde and cyanide. The European Food Safety Authority warns that eating three small bitter kernels would exceed safe consumption levels. Apricot kernel oil, familiar from skincare, carries almost none of the fruit's signature aroma, according to Pairfum.

Next to peach, which a perfume glossary calls juicier, creamier and more velvety, apricot reads as restrained and drier. In a composition it tends to sit in the heart of fruity-floral, gourmand and soft-amber structures, adding warmth without announcing itself as fruit. Pairfum says it gained prominence in Western perfumery during the 20th century.

Osmanthus, which often joins the accord, is costly. Delacourte puts the figure at 720 kg of flowers for only 750 g of absolute.