Edible Perfumes

[gfron1]

Thanks to a generous sample pack from Amoretti, I now have a bottle of edible Siberian Pine perfume (the flavor was my choice). But, what do I do with it? Has anyone used edible perfumes before - I assume based on the taste of mine that they're meant for the smell, not the taste, and the "edible" means its safe to consume.

My original thought is a butterscotch bread pudding. Then take some soft vanilla ice cream and press it into a bowl and freeze it. And at serving time, put the hot pudding on the plate, squirt a bit of the perfume in the bowl as I place it inverted over the pudding. The heat from the pudding will melt the ice cream out of the bowl, and when the bowl is lifted it will release the pine perfume. The inspiration is that when I'm out hiking, our pine trees smell like butterscotch. This may be a complete disaster, but what they hey!

So, the question is - has anyone used this stuff, and how?

[Drewman]

It's my understanding that the thought process behind the perfumes was to increase dessert sales. You spray it on the plate & as the server carries the dessert past other diners, they smell the wonderful aroma (chocolate, pineapple, caramel, etc.) & say to themselves; "that smells wonderful & I'm going to order it."

[Tri2Cook]

I'm unfamiliar with edible perfumes but I use scents in the way Drewman mentioned. In my case, not so much as a sales tool as an enhancer. When I do my wild mushroom soup, immediately before it goes to the table I spray a mist of truffle oil over it so there's a nice perfume of mushroom hanging over it. I've done the same with other things. I just put whatever scented liquid I want to use in those misting bottles that you pump up and spray. I keep lots of those bottles around.

[Dianabanana]

What are these? What are the ingredients? This is the first I've heard of them.

For your Siberian Pine stuff, it sounds like it might have qualities in common with kewra (screw pine essence), which is used in some Indian pilafs and many Indian desserts. You could look to those for inspiration.

[anzu]

So did you use it yet? How did it turn out?

Having just got back from Finland with a bottle of spruce shoot syrup I am very much in evergreen mode at the moment.

Looking at how the syrup was used in Finland, and extrapolating a fair bit, I'm thinking your pine perfume might enhance any dish containing cooked apples, or even with fish. Or, thinking of how good German ham that was smoked over pine tastes, perhaps with ham or pork as well.

[gfron1]

Those are great ideas anzu. I used it just last night - not for my dessert - but for a savory. I made a ratatouille (ala the movie) with a pine nut/aged gouda encrusted chicken breast. Using the concept above, I spritzed the plate as I was bringing it out.

Result: My dogs sneezed a lot but everyone thought the dish smelled great (I had included rosemary in my ratatouille).

[zpzjessica]

if you're truly interested, do a google search for mandy aftel. she is the reigning queen on this subject!

www.aftelier.com...she makes perfumes but is also extremely well-versed in scents/perfumes used in cooking. she can daniel patterson (of coi restaurant fame, in san francisco) collaborate quite frequently. they have a cookbook called 'aroma'.

[Dianabanana]

But what's in it?

[gfron1]

Here's their web page on the perfumes. It gives no info on ingredients, so when I get home I'll see if the label includes any details.

Just found this:

www.ultimatebarchef.com - "The Pistachio Edible Perfume spray is perfect for spritzing a cocktail, flavoring sugar or a moistening agent for rimming glasses."

[ChefCrash]

Two very old edible perfumes are: Rose water and Blossom water.

[gfron1]

I've checked the package and also their literature and it says nothing of the ingredients. So my assumption then is that it is a food grade alcohol with essence. And chefcrash, I think your comment may be saying 'why do we even need this...' (my apologies if I'm putting words in your mouth), and I don't disagree. Its more of an interesting idea than something I would want to use.

To me, knowing the role of smell in taste, having hundreds of aromas to be added to a food to complement or twist a taste experience really allows my mind to play with possibilities. What if I want you to smell chipotle while tasting mango? Or how about smelling marsala wine while eating a dark chocolate creme? Just intriguing to me, but not anything I'll pry from my tight wallet.

[Tri2Cook]

To me, knowing the role of smell in taste, having hundreds of aromas to be added to a food to complement or twist a taste experience really allows my mind to play with possibilities.

←

Exactly! That's why I have all those misting bottles around taking up space. I'm just too frugal (pronounced "cheap") to spend money on them and will probably keep using my own concoctions.

[gfron1]

I just received an answer from Amoretti about what goes into these. As expected: food grade alcohol and my Siberian Fir "is made of natural Siberian Fir Needle extractives." Now wasn't that helpful