Aftelier Chef's Essences: Asian Lemon

I'm so impressed with Mandy Aftel's line of Chef's Essences. The award-winning natural perfumer has wowed the world with her handmade artisan fragrances and has collaborated with renowned chefs to create exotic culinary oils. Aftel now sells a basic line of professional-grade essences at Williams-Sonoma that you can easily incorporate in the home kitchen.

Credit: Tami Yu

Each tiny 5ml bottle contains 150 servings. That's right, you can potentially use the entire bottle with 150 different recipes. I tried the Asian Lemon oil (litsea cubeba) on a basic lemon bar recipe and was completely blown away with the result. I only used 1.5 drops of the essence. The recipe called for 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of zest, but I omitted the zest entirely and only used 1 tablespoon of Meyer lemon juice.

The oil transformed the humble lemon bar into a superstar dessert. The next time I run out of lemons, I can totally count on this little powerhouse. When I shared the bars with a few friends, they were all jumping up and down about the taste. It's way more intense and bright, giving it a nice round mouthfeel. The oil can also be used on vegetables, seafood, and cocktails. I'm sure it's awesome as a hot lemon honey tea.

Aftel's Chef Essences are available in Asian Lemon, Fresh Ginger, Warm Nutmeg, Sweet Basil, Black Pepper, and Spearmint flavors. All are sold ($16.95-$19.95 each) at www.williams-sonoma.com.

For editorial consideration, a review sample was provided by the brand's PR representative.

Comments

[Mandy Aftel]

It’s so nice to have my Chef’s Essences featured here, I love your blog! Thanks very much for your great tips & recipe, it looks completely mouth-watering!
Mandy

[Tami]

I adore YOU Mandy. Thanks so much for your help! :)

[Carolyn Jung]

I recently got a bottle of the ginger one to try. Can't wait to use it, especially since I am such a ginger addict.

[Tami]

I can't wait to try that flavor too! :D