Aftelier Perfumes Chef's Essence Sprays

Mandy Aftel might seem more in step with Vogue than Joy of Cooking.

But the owner of Aftelier Perfumes, a renowned natural fragrance line, is playing crossover star with her recently launched Chef's Essence Sprays ($18 to $22 for 30 ml), a line of flavored essential oils meant to be spritzed on your dinner.

Made from oils suspended in corn-based alcohol, the sprays come in varieties that include cumin, ginger and cinnamon. Each flavor is made from top-of-the-line ingredients: Aftel spent months scouring the globe to source the best fruit and spices.

The sprays have the upper hand on dried spices; kept in the refrigerator, they outlive their traditional pantry counterparts and deliver a cleaner flavor.

We created a Creamsicle on steroids by spraying vanilla ice cream with the blood orange essence, while a spritz of the cumin version gave our hummus extra life without overwhelming.

These scents simply make sense.