If you still have roses in the house, and if they haven't wilted by now, don't go thinking about chucking them in the bin just yet. Those blooms are still valuable and would have other uses other than squishing them between book pages.
Today, we share a simple Rose Water recipe you can make using ingredients you might already have at home.
Rose Water Uses
Amongst the many uses of rose blooms, making rose water is a popular concoction that is known not only to be good for the skin but is also used to add a distinct flavor to desserts and cocktails. In fact, the French use rose water to flavor macarons and eclairs. In Italy, there is gelato mixed in with rose petals and rose water. In India, rose water is added to Lassi and many tea is infused with rose petals.
The Recipe
You only need these 3 things to make your own rose water: rose petals, vodka and water. If you have those ready, let's run through the steps.
Step 1 : Gather your rose blooms and produce at least 1 cup of rose petals. It is best to make rose water with only 1 type of rose because each species has its own distinct fragrance. Make sure to rinse the petals well.
Step 2 : Put your rose petals in a pan and pour 2 cups of water over them. You are free to add more but remember that adding more water results to lesser fragrant rose water.
Step 3: Add 1-2 teaspoons of vodka then heat your rose water for about 20 minutes. Vodka is naturally anti-bacterial and it will prolong the shelf life of your rose water. It is important to just heat the water and keep it from simmering as it may potentially destroy any of the rose water's beneficial properties.
Step 4: After 20 minutes, you should see the petals soft, almost wilted and pale (if you're using light colored roses). Strain the rose water, leaving the petals out of your sealable glass vessel. If you have amber vessels, those work best.
Step 5: Store your rose water in the fridge. If you mixed in vodka as suggested, your rose water can be stored for 2 weeks. If vodka isn't available, shelf life is reduced by half.
And there you have it. It's quite that simple. A close friend of ours tried this exact rose water recipe and told us that it can taste just like roses which may be foreign to many people. We will try making this soon just because it wasn't roses that I sent my other half last Valentine's Day. If you will try this recipe at home then let us know what you think by sounding off in our social media pages. We'd love to hear your experience.
Original recipe by Stephanie Ziajka
Serious Eats for Rose Water facts.