SC - RE: Ambergris and musk

[Jennifer Carlson]

If you are using an essential oil instead of the whole item, please make 
sure that it is not synthetic ambergris or musk - the synthetics are not 
necessarily food grade.  Also, perfume oil is not the same as essential oil 
- - it may be adulterated with chemicals you don't want to put in food.  I 
have found some excellent synthetic oils that I use in my perfumery, but I 
won't use in cooking.   Also, the essential oils of the real thing are 
quite pricey.

While ambergris can still be found washed up on shores, I have not heard 
that anyone has developed a new way of collecting musk - cutting off the 
gland of the male musk deer.  Farmers in Asia have begun raising herds of 
musk deer to provide glands to perfumery, making money and at the same time 
protecting the wild musk deer from overhunting.

Civet is used more for its fixative properties than its scent.  Civet and 
skunk both produce strongly scented secretions that are famous for their 
staying power.  The base material of the secretions, separated from the 
nasty scent chemicals, is used as a fixative in perfumes.  I presume this 
substance can be obtained from ferrets and other similar creatures. 
 Ambergris, in addition to having its own scent (which is indeed quite 
pleasant), is also a fixative, which is why it is so valuable in perfumery. 
 Orris root, from a kind of iris, is also a fixative, and is used in 
potpourri today, and was used in making scented stuff for the home in 
period - but because it is a plant substance, it is useful more for dry 
perfuming, as in potpourri and sachets and powders.

Talana


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