Abelmoschus moschatus is an aromatic and medicinal plant in the Malayaceae family, which is native to India. The seeds have a sweet, flowery, heavy fragrance similar to that of musk. Despite its tropical origin the plant is frost hardy.
Ambrette has long been appreciated in perfumery as one of the few plant oils that contains natural musk compounds, including one named after the plant, ambrettolide. Much synthetic musk is cooked up in laboratories these days, but for people who care about natural products, there is no substitute for Ambrette.
Ambrette oil is expensive and rare because so much work goes into creating it. Unlike some oil crops where the plant leaves are used, Ambrette oil is made only from seeds, which weigh very little and must be carefully gathered. The seeds represent a tiny fraction of the biomass of the entire plant and only a very small yield of essential oil is achieved 0.2% to 0.6% of the total weight of the seeds.
Ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus) is a tropical hibiscus with beautiful bright yellow flowers, and its distinctive seed pods look so similar to okra that the plant is sometimes referred to as “musk okra” or “ornamental okra.” Ambrette is native to India, where it is known as Mushkdana or Kasturi Bhendi. The plant grows to just over a meter in height and is an evergreen shrub.
When mature the pods split open to reveal kidney-shaped seeds that have a sweet, flowery, heavy fragrance. When green the pods are edible, and we have to fend off the local monkeys to ensure harvest.
Ambrette oil is pale yellow, with an enchanting aroma described variously as sweet, rich, warm, musky, fatty and nutty, with floral overtones. After a short period of aging, more complex notes can emerge, such as wine, brandy, fruit, and tobacco.
Benefit & Uses:Musk mallow seed oil was once frequently used as a substitute in perfumes for animal musk; however this use is now mostly replaced by various synthetic musk’s due to its high cost.
It has many culinary uses. The seeds are added to coffee; unripe pods ("musk okra"), leaves and new shoots are eaten as vegetables. Different parts of the plant have uses in Ayurveda herbal medicine.
In industry the root mucilage provides sizing for paper; tobacco is sometimes flavored with the flowers. Ambrette oil is used in high end, luxury perfumes and cosmetic products. It is also used as a flavoring in vermouth and bitters, chewing tobacco, sweets, and baked products.
Ambrette seeds are sometimes mixed with coffee in Arabic cultures. In India the seeds are burned as incense, packed with clothing as an insect repellent, and pounded for use as a hair perfume.
Ambrette seed pods, when green, are made into pickles in India, and the leaves and shoots are also edible when tender. Finally, the yellow flowers of Ambrette make it popular as an ornamental plant.
Used in Chinese medicine to treat headache; in Western traditions as a folk medicine with stimulant, aromatic, antispasmodic actions and as an insecticide for protecting woolen garments from moths.
Ambrette seed and its tincture are used in preparing vermouths and bitters. The oil and absolute are also used in vermouths and bitters, but they are more commonly used in flavoring other types of food products, including nonalcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts, candy, baked goods, and gelatins and puddings.
Oil and absolute are used in sophisticated types of perfumes and in soaps, detergents, creams, and lotions; maximum use level reported is 0.12% for the oil in perfumes. The oil is valued for its sweet, rich wine or brandy-like, floral, musky scent with a unique bouquet and roundness. While resembling animal-derived musk scents, ambrette seed oil lacks the fecal note sometimes found in the former; one of the most expensive essential oils.