Rosemary Hydrosol
Rosemary hydrosol is the aqueous condensate recovered from the steam distillation of rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus, formerly classified as Rosmarinus officinalis. It is the water phase that separates from the essential oil in the Florentine flask, and it carries the small fraction of oxygenated aroma compounds that are soluble enough in hot water to stay behind rather than partition into the oil.
Chemically it is almost entirely water, with dissolved volatiles usually between two hundred and one thousand parts per million. The compounds present are the polar members of the rosemary profile, mainly 1,8-cineole, camphor, borneol, verbenone and small amounts of alpha terpineol, so the aroma is softer, greener and more herbal than the essential oil and lacks the resinous weight the hydrocarbon terpenes give. It is naturally acidic, typically between pH 4 and pH 5.
It is a clear to faintly cloudy colourless liquid, fully miscible with water and used undiluted or at low addition rates. Because it contains almost no alcohol and only traces of antimicrobial terpenes, it is microbiologically fragile and is normally filtered fine, sometimes heat treated, and held cold. It should not be confused with rosemary extract, the phenolic diterpene antioxidant preparation, which is a different material made by solvent extraction.
We source bulk Rosemary Hydrosol from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Henan. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear to slightly opalescent colourless liquid |
| Odour | Characteristic fresh herbal rosemary, free of musty or fermented note |
| Identification | Gas chromatography profile conforms to reference, cineole and camphor present |
| Dissolved Volatiles | 0.02 to 0.10% by weight |
| pH at 20 C | 4.0 to 5.0 |
| Relative Density at 20 C | 0.995 to 1.002 |
| Refractive Index at 20 C | 1.3330 to 1.3345 |
| Dry Residue | Not more than 0.10% |
| Residual Essential Oil | Not more than 0.05% |
| Lead | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 0.2 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 100 cfu/ml |
| Yeast and Mould | Not more than 10 cfu/ml |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 ml |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 ml |
Common Markets Grades
The material is traded on a small number of distinctions rather than on an assay. The primary one is whether the hydrosol is a first pass condensate collected on a still run specifically for it, or a co-product of essential oil distillation collected after the oil has been separated; the first carries more dissolved volatiles and a fuller aroma. Organic certified material is a separate grade, as is hydrosol distilled from fresh rather than dried herb, which is greener and less camphoraceous.
Beyond origin, grades are described by preservation route. Unpreserved hydrosol is filtered to 0.2 micron, filled aseptically and held refrigerated with a short shelf life; preserved grades carry a permitted food or cosmetic preservative system and are stable at ambient temperature. Concentrated hydrosols, produced by returning the condensate through a further distillation, are offered where transport of a mostly aqueous product is uneconomic. Food grade and cosmetic grade material follow the same distillation but differ in the microbiological and contaminant limits applied.
Applications
- Herbal and botanical soft drinks, contributing a rounded rosemary top note without the harshness of the essential oil
- Flavoured waters and low alcohol aperitifs, where a water miscible aroma source avoids the need for an emulsifier
- Marinades and brines for lamb, poultry and fish, carrying aroma into the muscle with the brine
- Vinegars, dressings and aqueous sauces that cannot hold an oil phase
- Bakery washes and glazes, giving a herbal note that only partly survives the oven
- Dairy and plant based drink formulations needing a mild herbal direction
- Confectionery and syrup bases as a natural flavouring preparation
- Cosmetic toners, facial mists and hair rinses, which take much of the traded volume
- Aromatic garnish and finishing sprays in foodservice preparation
Brands Using Rosemary Hydrosol
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Rosemary Hydrosol on the ingredient label.
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Rosemary Hydrosol
Top Rosemary Hydrosol manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the European Union rosemary hydrosol is a flavouring preparation obtained from a food raw material by a physical process, which places it inside the flavourings framework without requiring an individual authorisation or an E number. It is distinct from rosemary extract, the antioxidant carrying the number E 392, which is a different preparation subject to its own additive authorisation and use levels. Where the hydrosol is used cosmetically it falls under the cosmetics regulation instead and is declared by its INCI name.
In the United States 21 CFR 182.10 lists rosemary among the spices and other natural seasonings and flavourings generally recognised as safe, 21 CFR 182.20 covers its essential oil and natural extractives, and a steam distilled aqueous distillate is treated as a natural flavouring on that basis. Manufacture is subject to preventive controls for human food, and the low acid or acidified rules matter where the product is filled without preservative. Codex handles the material under its general provisions for flavourings rather than by a numbered specification.
Manufacturing Process
Fresh or partly wilted rosemary tops are loaded into a stainless steel still and steam is passed through the bed from below. The steam ruptures the oil glands on the leaf surface and carries the volatile fraction overhead as an azeotrope with water vapour. The vapour is condensed in a tube or coil condenser and runs into a Florentine separator, where the essential oil, which is lighter than water and largely insoluble in it, forms an upper layer and is drawn off. The lower aqueous layer is the hydrosol.
The hydrosol is decanted away from residual oil droplets, allowed to settle, then clarified by depth filtration and polished through a fine membrane. Where the specification calls for it, the liquid is either flash pasteurised or sterile filtered at 0.2 micron before filling. Filling is carried out into cleaned high density polyethylene or lined steel containers with minimal headspace, and the product is stored cold and away from light because both heat and oxygen degrade the dissolved oxygenated terpenes.
