Rose de Mai
May is the month when the Rose de Mai, or Rosa centifolia, grows in Grasse. This species is a little different than the rose we're used to seeing, and smells amazing. A little sweeter maybe, with a strong citrus aspect. Chanel uses this in their Chanel No 5 and has their own field and production facility in nearby Pegomás.
Last week, we took a visit to the Firmenich fields. It was over 100 degrees that day and I felt bad for the pickers, except I have to admit I was also thinking about the aromatherapeutic benefits they must get from being around roses all day. Apparently, in the past the best time to pick the roses was in the morning but because of climate change, this has changed to midday.
Once picked, the roses have to get to the production facilities for processing right away, before the petals start to wilt and the scent changes. This particular production facility produces many of the locally grown products including orange peel, maté, blackcurrent buds, and violet leaves. This here is 400 kilos of roses which were picked that day, or about 900 pounds. Worldwide, about 60 tons of Rose centifolia are processed each year.
The roses are put into a hexane solution and once the hexane has absorbed the scented oil from the flowers, the petals can be discarded. The hexane is then separated out to make a concrete. After this, the wax is separated out from the concrete to make the absolute.
Being France, a field trip to see roses ends with rosé.
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