Know all the secrets of this curious veggie
Each season comes with new scents to our homes. New ingredients appear in the fragrance world, new raw materials that become in style, new accords that surprise our senses. This autumn, Whole Foods Market has released its top food trends for 2018 with two of them influencing strongly the art of perfumery. The first one, floral inspiration is finally in full bloom: edible petals go mainstream. The second one, root-to-stem cooking, which makes use of the entire fruit or vegetable, including the stems or leaves that are less commonly eaten. We have selected rhubarb as accord of the season, which gathers both trends: a floral hint and stem and leaves accords. Rhubarb is the olfactory note you need to smell.
What is rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a type of plant with large leaves and long fleshy edible stalks with a deep red colour and small flowers. Despite not being a fruit, but a vegetable, it is commonly used in kitchen as if it was and used to make pies and other desserts. Rhubarb has a very intense tart flavour, and sugar is needed to offset this tartness. Sweet strawberries are often combined with rhubarb to balance its flavour, although apples, figs, pear and raspberries can also complement rhubarb´s taste. Besides, there are some spices that go well with rhubarb such as ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg.
Where is it grown?
Rhubarb is a very easy plant to grow and that is why it is grown widely. In mild climates, rhubarb is one of the first food plants harvested, usually in mid- to late spring (April/May in North Hemisphere, October/November in South Hemisphere). This plant flourishes in areas of direct sunlight but it is also grown with greenhouse production, hence it is available throughout much of the year.
How is it used in perfumery?
What about rhubarb used to create fragrances? Rhubarb isn’t a raw material itself, we cannot get any essence from this plant. However, it is used by perfumers as a source of inspiration. When we see accords of rhubarb in perfumery is thanks to the mastery of perfumers. They blend different ingredients in order to create captivating scents.
The rhubarb accord varies frequently because is not only made from one note, as we just said, but a concoction of different ones: citrus, fruity, floral and vegetal notes. The result: fresh, sweet, sour and fruity fragrances that Capture Sensations. Rhubarb fragrances bring fresh air to personal care products, adding sophistication and elegance to our daily routines.
Autumn, you smell so good!
