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Abstract Many intermediate to felsic intrusive and extrusive rocks contain mafic magmatic enclaves that are evidence for magma recharge and mixing. Whether enclaves represent records of prolonged mixing  or syn‐eruptive recharge depends on their preservation potential in their intermediate to felsic host magmas. We present a model for enclave consumption where an initial stage of diffusive equilibration loosens the crystal framework in the enclave followed by advective erosion and disaggregation of the loose crystal layer. Using experimental data to constrain the propagation rate of the loosening front leads to enclave “erosion” rates of 10⁻⁵–10⁻⁸ cm/s for subvolcanic magma systems. These rates suggest that under some circumstances, enclave records are restricted to syn‐eruptive processes, while in most cases, enclave populations represent the recharge history over centuries to millennia. On these timescales, mafic magmatic enclaves may be unique recorders that can be compared to societal and written records of volcano activity.