The aromatic industry makes use of several techniques in the extraction of essential oils from natural sources. Distillation, Expression, maceration, Enfleurage, etc are a few effective techniques among them. The method of extraction depends largely on the type of raw material used. Enfleurage is one such method which is employed effectively in the extraction of fragrances. Here, the fragrant compounds that are emitted from the raw materials are absorbed into wax and then extracted as oil with the help of alcohol.

In this method, odorless fats which remain solid at room temperature are made use of to capture the fragrant compounds which are given off by plants. The process of Enfleurage can either be ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ according to the raw material from which the oil has to be extracted.
The process involved in extraction of aromatic compounds through cold Enfleurage is as follows. A layer of animal fat usually from pork or beef is smeared on a large framed, glass plate which is known as chassis. After it sets completely, the raw material which normally comprises of petals or whole flowers are placed on it for a period of one to three days for their scent to get diffused on to the fat. This process is repeated by replacing the withered flowers until the fragrance absorbed by the fat reaches a saturation point. This method of fragrance extraction was initially developed in the South of France towards the nineteenth century and was mainly used for the creation of high-grade concentrates.

Hot Enfleurage is a process in which the fats which are in a solid state of form are heated initially and the raw materials which consist of different plant material are stirred into it at repeated intervals until the fat becomes saturated with the scent. Considered to be one among the ancient methods of preserving fragrances from plant matter, it was used widely and was a very popular method.

Both the hot and cold Enfleurage produces the ‘enfleurage pomade’, or fat which happens to be heavily saturated with fragrance.  It could be sold directly or treated further by ethyl alcohol so that the aromatic molecules are absorbed by the alcohol. This alcohol, when evaporated, leaves behind the odorant or fragrant compounds.

The technique of Enfleurage is not considered to be very economically viable by the aromatic industry these days and as a result it has given way to more cost effective and efficient extraction methods.

Tim Walt