Enfleurage

Enfleurage captures a flower’s scent in fat. In cold enfleurage, flowers sit against a layer of odorless fat on a glass frame. Fresh flowers replace the spent ones until the fat has taken on the fragrance. The scented fat is called a pomade.

Fragonard’s explanation of its perfume-making methods describes both cold enfleurage and a hot method, in which flowers infuse in warmed fat. Processing the resulting pomade with alcohol separates fragrant material from the fat; evaporation can then yield an absolute.

This is an extraction method you may encounter in a discussion of floral materials, especially jasmine and tuberose. It differs from steam distillation and from extracting plants directly with volatile solvents. When a maker mentions enfleurage, look for the flower, the resulting material and how it is used in that particular perfume.