Dominica is a leading producer of Bay Oil; the West Indian Bay Oil is antiseptic and the scent is heavenly.
I have been using and promoting the use of bay oil as a cleaning agent for over 20 years.
I utilized this oil to make my own cleaning products for my business
Pimenta racemosa. Indigenous to northern South America and the Caribbean, tropical bay is a sturdy, evergreen tree of the Myrtle family which has been cultivated for commercial purposes for 80-90 years in some West Indian Islands.
Dominica is currently the main centre in the Caribbean for producing bay oil, which is exported to the USA and Europe for use in perfumes and cosmetics and also to Trinidad for making Bay Rum. Bay Rum was initially prepared by collecting the distillate from boiling bay leaves in white rum, but is now made from a combination of bay oil, citrus and spice oils, alcohol and water. The Bay tree grows throughout Dominica but production and distilleries are concentrated in the south east of the island. The oil is produced in several small distilleries, many of which are run as co-operatives, by distilling the steam from boiling leaves, a traditional process that gives Dominican oil its distinctive colour and sweet, spicy, aroma. Trees are also cultivated in Tobago, where a government-owned estate has been the site of research trials for recent attempts to revitalise the industry. The oil produced in Tobago is more highly refined than bay oil produced in other regions of the Caribbean as it is extracted from steam distillation of whole leaves. Possibilities for export are currently being explored for Tobago bay oil as well as adding value to locally produced items, such as soap, with the addition of the oil. Traditionally, whole leaves are also used as seasoning for foods, pickles and vinegars and as a medicinal tea to treat colds and flu. However, other niche markets for tropical bay extracts may also evolve as medicinal uses are further investigated. It is, for instance, an important ingredient, in a herbal supplement promoted for aiding stress associated with the withdrawal symptoms people suffer when quitting smoking.
Unlike some other plant extracts, it is not easy to produce an acceptable synthetic substitute, as bay oil is a particularly complex essential oil with over 20 components. It also has a very long shelf life. As the original oil is almost always preferred and the tree itself is extremely hardy and can even be grown on poor, rocky soils, more producers are being encouraged to take advantage of this natural Caribbean concoction.
Bay essential oil used for soap making and perfumery is produced from the leaves of the plant Pimenta Racemosa in the West Indies and South America. Dominica is one of the largest bay oil producers in the world. The West Indian Bay is different than the
West Indian Bay is antiseptic and the scent is heavenly.
Since it’s discovery along the trade routes of the Caribbean several centuries ago it became a commonly traded spice and is used frequently in traditional french cooking. While the leaves are used for cooking spices and making the essential oil, the berries are also used to make fragrant waxy oil that is used in candle making for bayberry candles. The Bay and Bayberry plant referred to here is actually Wild Cinnamon or Pimenta Acris or Pimenta Racemosa native to the West Indies. There is a Bay plant native to Eastern America that has fragrant waxy berries that have a similar scent and was used by colonial period candle makers for scenting candles in the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie areas.
locally antiseptic, useful in treatment of dandruff, Tropical bay should not be confused with the temperate, or ‘sweet’ bay, Laurus nobilis, the leaves of which are also used as a seasoning for food. A close relative of the Bay tree is the Pimento tree, whose seeds are used to produce ‘allspice’.
DIRECTORY OF NATURAL LIVING IN DOMINICA
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