Using Food Grade (Edible) Essential Oils

Many essential oils are suitable for use as a flavoring and are safe for human consumption. Used sparingly, these powerful, all natural oils can add intense flavor and aroma to candies, chocolates, frostings, baked goods, soups and marinades.

The essential oils that LorAnn Oils labels as food grade (edible) are approved by a regulation of the FDA (a classification known as GRAS) or appear on the industry approved register of safe ingredients for the flavor industry.  LorAnn Oils is independently certified as a Safe Quality Foods (SQF) manufacturer.

Essential oils are the highly concentrated, volatile, aromatic essences of plants. These natural plant oils are appreciated for both their aromatic and flavoring qualities. Many essential oils such as peppermint, lemon and orange are commonly used to flavor desserts, candies and chocolates. Other, more herbal oils, such as thyme and marjoram are better suited for flavoring savory foods such as stews and sauces. Lavender and bergamot oils have become popular in chocolate crafting especially.

Essential oils are VERY concentrated, and therefore should be used in small amounts and never ingested undiluted or directly from the bottle.

• Substitute lemon oil for lemon zest, orange oil for orange zest and lime oil for lime zest.
• In recipes calling for grated citrus zest or peel start with 1/8 teaspoon essential oil in place of 1 tablespoon of zest. No more grated knuckles! This is an easy way to add a punch of citrus flavor to glazes, toppings, sauces – even piecrust!

• For most oils, one drop replaces a teaspoon of dried herb or spice.
• For bolder tasting herb oils such as Thyme, Oregano (Origanum), Rosemary and Marjoram, dip a toothpick into the bottle and stir into your recipe just before serving. Stronger flavored oils can be simmered at length in soups and stews to produce a milder flavor.
• For milder herb oils use 1 - 2 drops at the end of cooking, or just before serving. 

• As with LorAnn’s super strength oils, natural essential oils are about 3 to 4 times stronger than alcohol-based extract flavorings (an extract is a flavor diluted in alcohol or a combination of alcohol and water).
• To substitute natural essential oils for an extract, start by using ¼ teaspoon essential oil in place of 1 teaspoon of an extract. Some essential oils such as clove and peppermint are particularly potent. We recommend starting with less and adding more to taste.

• All food grade essential oils are appropriate for use in real chocolate and chocolate coating (candy melts).
• Use approximately 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per pound of chocolate or chocolate coating. Also ideal for flavoring candy centers & fondants.
• To use, add oil to melted chocolate and stir to mix thoroughly. When using a floral or herbal essential oil such as lavender and bergamot, just a hint of essence is needed. We recommend dipping a toothpick into the bottle and stirring into the melted chocolate. With these flavors, it’s best to start with a tiny amount and add as necessary.

All oils listed here are certified to be food grade.

• Anise 
• Bergamot
• Blood Orange
• Clove (Clove Leaf)
• Eucalyptus
• Ginger 
• Grapefruit 
• Lavender 
• Lemon
• Lemongrass
• Lime 
• Nutmeg 
• Orange 
• Oregano (Origanum) 
• Peppermint 
• Rosemary 
• Spearmint 
• Tangerine
• Tea Tree
• Thyme 
• Wintergreen

Flavors in our "LorAnn Naturals" line are compounded using natural flavor ingredients in a base of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine. These concentrated flavors are about twice the strength of a typical grocery store extract flavor. 

• Almond
• Banana
• Blueberry
• Creamy Caramel
• Cherry
• Chocolate
• Cranberry
• Toffee
• Maple
• Pomegranate
• Raspberry
• Strawberry