To steep or soak aromatic plant material in a liquid (usually water or a plain vegetable oil) to create a plant extract containing the water or oil soluble constituents. The macerate will usually differ chemically from an essential or expressed oil made from the same plant material due to this. It is possible to create a macerate from plants that do not usually yield an essential oils by distillation. Examples are Meadowsweet and Comfrey. Macerates are also known as Infused or herbal oils.