Essential Oils

Essential oils are any concentrated, hydrophobic liquids containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted. An example is oil of clove.

The term essential indicates that the oil carries a distinctive scent or essence of the plant, not that it is an especially important or fundamental substance. Essential oils do not have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances; they are generally extracted by distillation. Essential oils are used in perfumes, food flavorings, medicine, and aromatherapy.