Process for producing rose oil

A process for producing rose oil from vegetable feed stock selected from fresh rose flowers and waste rose flowers which have been subjected to a previous extraction, comprising:

• subjecting said vegetable stock to an preliminary enzymatic treatment by contacting said vegetable stock with an enzymatic preparation in an amount of about 0.1 to 0.5% by weight based on the weight of said feedstock, said enzymatic preparation comprising products of biosynthesis of microorganisms from at least one genus selected from the group consisting of Trichoderma and Geotrichum and containing active beta-glucoside-hydrolases specific with respect to rose glycosides and enzymes which hydrolyze structural polysaccharides of said vegetable stock, said preliminary treatment being carried out in an aqueous medium containing about 1 part by wieght of said vegetable feedstock per 1.5 to 3.0 parts by weight of water, at a temperature of about 40.degree. to 45.degree. C., at the initial pH of the mixture of feedstock and water, for about 2 to 4 hours,
• hydrodistilling the thus treated vegetable feedstock and recovering rose oil from the resulting hydrodistillate.