Coriander seed oil, distilled from the fruit of Coriandrum sativum, is used by flavour houses in beverage and confectionery compounds, by the fragrance industry, and in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations. Whether a given lot of seed is worth distilling depends almost entirely on which botanical type it is.
Why it works this way
The seed exists in two commercial types. The var. vulgare type has larger, more spherical fruit with a lower volatile oil content; it is the mainstream culinary and grinding seed found in spice jars and curry blends. The var. microcarpum type has smaller, more oval fruit and a substantially higher volatile oil content, and it is the type distillers buy.
Ukraine grows predominantly the small-fruited type, which is why the origin has a distillation industry as well as a culinary trade. The two types are priced on different bases, so a contract that says only “coriander seed” invites a mismatch: the buyer expecting distillation feedstock and the seller shipping culinary grade are both acting in good faith.
Distillation itself is a hydrodistillation or steam distillation process, and the yield is reported against the seed’s volatile oil content determined by ISO 6571. Spent seed retains value as a lower-grade culinary or feed material, which affects the economics.
What follows in practice
Specify the botanical type, the screen size and the volatile oil minimum together, and confirm which analytical basis the figure is quoted on.
The coriander seed record sets out the grading axes and the microbiological question that comes with a field-dried commodity.