I have been amusing myself with the art & practice of enfleurage, with those flowers that do not lend themselves to distillation. (Or with those flowers that do distill but just wanting another path of amusement.) So far i think my greatest success has been with the Hyacinth.
It's a long drawn out process that for me can take 6 months or so as sometimes i only attend to it when i think of it. But i am in no hurry; my comfort zone is in the slow lane through life.
First i melt a thin layer of palm fat or coconut shortening in a glass dish & let this harden. Then just add flowers. Thick, waxy flowers like hyacinth & tuberose i can actually leave for 2 to 3 days, until they get wilty. You don't want to give mold the upper hand. Less substantial flowers like the ginger lily & honeysuckle come off in 24 hours. In warmer weather the trays will need to be in the refrigerator least the flowers sink into soft fat/oil. I've done this with narcissus, easter lily, hyacinth, ginger lily, honeysuckle and tuberose. I'm holding over some lilac and some lily of the valley from last year that need strengthening so i'll add to them this spring. This summer i hope to add peony to the list.
After the pomade is saturated; meaning when i have run out of flowers or it's season has finished, i scoop it into a jar & cover with organic grape alcohol. Then the jar goes through months of alternating heat & cold to wring the scent out of the fat & into the alcohol. I'm sure i could speed this part up but...i don't.
As you can see i don't always end up with much 'juice' but this particular batch brought us to our knees. To my nose there is no fragrance more exalting than the voice of heaven funneled straight through a flower's throat and to blend it with anything else would be sacrosanct. OK, maybe a bit of subliminal ambergris to anchor it. Even though this particular one was still whispering on the scent strip after 24 hours, they are too ephemeral / ethereal to create a sillage down the hallway. So i have arrived at the conclusion that the best way to injoy these is to spray them on my pillow at night and they have enough presence in the morning to 'wake me in the garden.'
I've been wanting to do some of this myself! It sounds absolutely divine Dabney.
ReplyDeleteAmanda...it's easy..and the best 'perfume' my nose has ever smelled.
DeleteMany thanks for sharing the process. And for the claiming the slowness of the art which gifts the precious smell.
ReplyDeleteLots of snow "mulch" up here in NJ, but the wild garlic shoots are beginning to peep out. Thinking about you as you begin to gather spring's treasures.
Thank you Tara! I think 'time' is a major ingredient & seems to be left out of more & more equations in today's world. It has no substitution.
ReplyDeleteYour spring thaw & wild green urges will be here before you know it. :)
Hi Dabney, I am so enamored of the idea of this process and want to try it. But, I'm confused about what kind of oil to use. I have a big thing of coconut oil I got from Costco, but it smells like coconut. And then I've read about using old fashioned lard. I'm not sure what to use. Do you mind sharing what specific brands of oil you use and where you get it? By the way, I'd love to take a class in distilling and enfleurage from you and I live just down the road in Durham! So, just a little nudge from me about doing that one of these days.... Thank you for sharing all this! :-) Celia
ReplyDeleteHi Celia...Nice to have like-minded folk as neighbors; i will keep that in mind! I buy tubs of 'Spectrum vegetable shorting' from health food stores...it is practically scentless. I have considered workshops; let's see what the coming season brings. Feel free to email me if you have any more questions.
ReplyDeletedabney
Thank you for this, Dabney. I have a huge gardenia crop in the late spring here in Florida. I tried doing enfleurage a few years ago and it did not work so well. I think I used crisco instead of coconut. and I may have picked the flowers too early in the day when they were still wet. Do you cover the pan with saran wrap? I really want to try again. Any tips or links to articles about enfleurage are helpful. I just read Laurie's interview with you. I love the way you have with words and your unique turn of phrases. I do hope someday to order some products from you. it sounds like you make some beautiful smells!
ReplyDeleteHi Tora..thank you for your kind words! The flowers Do need to be dry as moisture will encourage mold. The only reason i cover my trays is to keep out dust or the smell of cooking onions! and i cover them only for short times.
ReplyDeleteHere is an Excellent and in depth article;
http://africanaromatics.com/enfleurage-101/
Hope this helps!
dabney