a term which, in a culinary context, is neatly defined by the NSOED as ‘A distillate or extract from a plant or medicinal substance, having its active constituents or characteristic properties in a concentrated form, … especially as an alcoholic solution of volatile substances.’ There are instances, e.g. essence of vanilla, where reputable firms market a product corresponding to this definition, but cheap imitations are also sold which do not.
Essential oils are not quite the same thing, but close. An essential oil is defined as a volatile oil obtained by distillation and having the characteristic odour of the plant etc. from which it is extracted. Familiar examples are oil of spearmint, oil of citronella.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
