Apsolut sena

Source

Hay consists of dried meadow grasses. One producer lists Hierochloe odorata as the botanical source of its hay absolute. The sweetgrass Hierochloe odorata, also named Anthoxanthum nitens, is an aromatic herb native to Northern Eurasia and North America, and it owes its sweet scent to coumarin. In Europe, the species Hierochloe alpina is frequently substituted or used interchangeably.

Harvest

At one producer, independent farmers cut the hay between June and August from both cultivated and wild meadows. The hay is sourced from the department of Var, in the south of France. Another producer uses a protected-designation hay from the Crau plains of southern France. The hay used for perfumery there is harvested in June and is made up mainly of grass.

Chemistry

Coumarin has the formula C₉H₆O₂. It belongs to the benzopyrone chemical class and is considered a lactone. It is a colorless crystalline solid with a sweet odor resembling the scent of vanilla and a bitter taste. Coumarin is found naturally in many plants. The scent of sweet vernal grass is particularly strong when dried and is due to coumarin, a glycoside, and benzoic acid. Tonka bean is among the plants in which coumarin is found naturally. Two chemicals found in sweetgrass, phytol and coumarin, repel mosquitoes. The bitter taste of coumarin deters grazing animals from eating the plant.

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