The methods used to extract perfume ingredients from their natural sources have changed over time as technology in general has advanced. However, both old and new methods fall into three basic classes: expression, distillation and solvent extraction.
Expression is the simplest of the three techniques. When odorants are forced out of the natural source by physical pressure, the process is referred to as expression and the product is called an expressed oil. If a piece of orange peel is squeezed, the oil bearing glands burst and eject a
fine spray of orange oil. Many commercially available citrus oils are prepared in this way.