Peppermint extract vs oil: relative strengths?

[Wholemeal Crank]

I am working on a cookie recipe for which I am going to use peppermint oil as a major flavoring.

If I want to offer an option for those who do not have access to the oil, how much more standard peppermint extract should I suggest they use?

And of course the volume of the extract may throw off the fluid balance a bit, but first problems first....

[Kerry Beal]

I'd say 10 drops of oil would give close to the same flavouring as 1 tsp extract.

[sugarseattle]

peppermint oil is MUCH stronger than extract...I think maybe 50 times stronger...we once accidentally used 1 Tablespoon of oil (the recipe called for extract) and our eyes were watering when the shortbread was baking!the aroma was so strong we could taste it in the back of our mouths.

so I would say more like 2 drops of oil=1tsp in our experience.

[Kerry Beal]

I'm seeing 1 part oil for 4 parts extract when I search online. But it is certainly worth starting low and adding as required to get the strength you are after. It may also differ by what you are flavouring - some ingredients may be more inclined to block the flavour - some to enhance it.

[Edward J]

I don't know how the "extracts" are made, but the oils are usualy destilled--which gives you a much stronger flavour. Be carefull with that stuff.

I also don't know how oil vs. extracts behaves in something thin that is baked in an oven. Fom experience I do know that artificial vanilla keeps it's flavour when baked in thin cookies (exposed to heat) as opposed to real vanilla which lost most of it's flavour in the same type of cookies.

Most of the flavoured oils (peppermint, orange, lemon, etc) you see in the supermarket are real--BUT have been thinned/cheapened with neutral vegetable oils and colours. Strengths vary from brand to brand I guess.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Most of the flavoured oils (peppermint, orange, lemon, etc) you see in the supermarket are real--BUT have been thinned/cheapened with neutral vegetable oils and colours.  Strengths vary from brand to brand I guess.

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That's an excellent point.

i used 1/4 teaspoon of a LorAnn oil for a batch of chocolate mint cookies--1/4 teaspoon extract for 1 cup of cocoa plus about 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate.

I was guessing a tablespoon of the typical supermarket extract--maybe 1:12--but I see such wide variations in these replies here that I think all I can say is '2 to 4 teaspoons, to taste'.

Will post a link once I get the recipe online.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Here's a link to the cookies

http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/ChocolateMint.html

[chiantiglace]

peppermint extract is made by maceration. soaking the peppermint in a solvent.

[Jossa]

I am working on a cookie recipe for which I am going to use peppermint oil as a major flavoring.

If I want to offer an option for those who do not have access to the oil, how much more standard peppermint extract should I suggest they use?

And of course the volume of the extract may throw off the fluid balance a bit, but first problems first....

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This link may help although it's for citrus oil i have used it in these quantities and it works.

http://www.ochef.com/1002.htm

Andrea

[pringle007]

When using oil, do you want to add it to the end of the cooking process? Like say yo wanted to make a peppermint flavored syrup..would you add the oil after the soluton had bouled or should you add it in the begining?

[MaxH]

Couple points that may be useful here. I'm not a peppermint-extract expert but ordinary good commercial ones I've seen were alcoholic dilutions of the pure oil. I don's know if there's a standard strength.

However, this may be moot because pure peppermint oil is easy to get, so you might instead offer ways to get it, as follows.

First, pharmacies sometimes carry it (along with clove oil and other traditional herbal principles), not to mention restaurant and "foodservice" suppliers many of whom are delighted to sell to individuals by the way (because, unlike restaurants, people pay cash). In past years I've gotten both the pure oil and what's even stronger, pure menthol which is its main active component (but useless for flavoring because it's missing the full complexity of peppermint) at retail pharmacies in California. (Peppermint oil is listed as a mainstream medication in older chemical reference books, as well as a flavoring -- it's an old "carminative" and still used sometimes to calm digestive tracts.)

But even those routes may be unnecessary: googling on "peppermint oil" yielded many firms offering it retail. So it's not hard to get, nor expensive.

[Wholemeal Crank]

However, this may be moot because pure peppermint oil is easy to get, so you might instead offer ways to get it

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All good points.

Will modify the recipe accordingly.

[Kerry Beal]

(Peppermint oil is listed as a mainstream medication in older chemical reference books, as well as a flavoring -- it's an old "carminative" and still used sometimes to calm digestive tracts.)

There was a medication in Canada a few years back called Colpramine - peppermint oil in a capsule - that was a prescription item for irritable bowel syndrome. I recall the surgeon telling me that after he opened up a friend of mine who's bowel ruptured due to Chrone's disease that the OR was filled with the most delightful odor of peppermint.

[MaxH]

(Peppermint oil is listed as a mainstream medication in older chemical reference books, ...an old "carminative" and still used sometimes to calm digestive tracts.)

There was a medication in Canada a few years back called Colpramine - peppermint oil in a capsule...

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Not to belabor this side aspect of peppermint, but I find it interesting and informative, and learned about it from reading older scientific reference books. Other sweet spices like anise played similar roles. Remember that from ancient times until 40-50 years ago and the rise of synthetic medications, most of the practice of pharmacy was built on herbs. Oils of various familiar sweet spices had mild beneficial medical effects and were mainstays until displaced by later drugs that were more effective, had fewer side effects, or (as some of my worldly medical friends point out) were more profitable. I suspect that "after-dinner mints" may have had semi-medicinal origin: the peppermint was known to reduce gas and have other calming effects. Such oils are still components in the central-European digestive bitters (Underberg, Wonderlich, etc.) consumed medicinally after big meals as a digestive aid.

There's even the memorable history, learned I think when I studied organic chemistry aeons ago, of a researcher who dissolved menthol in vegetable oil, swallowed it, and by noting the cooling sensation, mapped where his digestive tract had sensory nerves!

[Kerry Beal]

And don't forget Clove oil on teeth.