ENFLEURAGE

Enfleurage is a method that uses odourless fats to extract the fragrance from petals. It was traditionally used to extract the fragrance from delicate petals, such as jasmine, tuberose and rose. However, it’s a labour-intensive method. Fresh petals are laid down on a tray of fat such as shea butter (though traditionally a mix of beef fat and lard) with another layer of fat on top. The flowers are allowed to sit for a day then replaced with fresh ones. This process is repeated each day (for at least 20 days) until the fat is saturated with the flowers’ essence. The scented fat is then soaked in food-grade ethanol for a few weeks and shaken daily until the alcohol is saturated with the scent. The fat is removed and the alcohol is filtered, leaving behind the scented extract.