enfleurage

English

WOTD – 26 June 2008

Etymology

From French enfleurage.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˌɑ̃.fluˈɹɑʒ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

enfleurage (usually uncountable, plural enfleurages)

1. The process of extracting fragrance (essential oils) from flowers by using unscented wax or fat, then extracting with alcohol.

   The perfumes of plants like jasmine could only be extracted by enfleurage, as other methods of the time would denature the scents.

   • 2002, Michel Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White, Canongate Books (2010), page 652:

     ‘Thereʼs a man in Somerset who claims heʼs invented a method of enfleurage that requires no alcohol.’

   • 2024 May 10, Lily Stewart, “A love letter to lilacs and the joys of fleeting pleasure”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     I was set on developing a lilac enfleurage from my own shrub.

Derived terms

• absolute of enfleurage

Translations

the process of extracting fragrance from flowers

• French: enfleurage (fr) m
• Macedonian: анфлера́жа f (anfleráža)
• Spanish: enfloraje, maceración f

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃.flœ.ʁaʒ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

enfleurage m (usually uncountable, plural enfleurages)

1. enfleurage

Related terms

• enfleurer