Eat Roses

Rose petals can be added to a variety of dishes to add a mild flowery flavor. You can make spreads like syrup and jam with roses. You can also use them to garnish dishes like ice cream. You can add roses to drinks like cocktails or make liquids like rose water. Roses can add great flavor and visual appeal to the foods you love.

Steps

Selecting the Right Roses to Eat

1. Eat only organically grown roses. Pesticides and insecticides can be harmful to your health. Roses absorb such products easily and it is not easy to wash these chemical additives off of roses. Stick to eating organically grown roses and make sure you check that the grower did not use any chemical-based fertilizers or additives.
   • If possible, pick wild roses yourself to eat.
2. Do not eat roses from a florist shop. It is not safe to buy roses from a florist. While some greenhouses may have roses that have not been chemically treated, florists usually use chemicals or fertilizers on roses to preserve their appearance.
3. Use scent to assess flavor. The tastiest roses will have the strongest smells. Pink and yellow roses tend to have stronger fragrances than red varieties. In general, a rose's smell indicates its rough flavor. Use this to gauge if a rose will provide you the taste you desire.
4. Remove the white heels of the petals. The white lower portion of all rose petals have a bitter flavor. Regardless of the type of rose you use, these should be removed. Cut off the white heel of each rose before you cook or serve your roses.

Making Spreads with Roses

1. Make jam with rose petals. To make jam with roses, you will need 600 grams of castor sugar, 200 grams of rose petals, 600 milligrams of water, and the juice from one lemon. Place your roses in the bowl with the lemon and 200 grams of the sugar. Massage the petals into the sugar and lemon to make a paste. Melt the remaining sugar and water together in a saucepan to make a syrup. Then, add your rose mixture and boil the syrup for about 30 minutes, stirring every so often. Then, place the mixtures in mason jars and cool in the refrigerator. You should be left with a nice jam.
   • You can use your jam on things like bread to add a sweet flavor.
   • Try topping baked goods like cookies with your jam.
2. Make syrup with rose petals. To make a syrup with rose petals, simmer four cups of rose petals with two cups of water and two cups of sugar. Simmer for about an hour. Then, strain out the petals using a sieve or similar device and save the syrupy liquid leftover.
   • Store your syrup in bottles.
   • You can use your rose syrup for dishes like pancakes.
3. Infuse honey with roses. To add a rosy flavor to honey, place dried rose petals at the bottom of a jar. Fill the jar to the top with honey. Let the jar sit until the petals float to the top. This should take around five days. Strain the honey to remove the petals. You will be left with rose-flavored honey.
4. Try homemade rose oil. Rose oil can be used in a variety of drinks and recipes. To make your own rose oil, fill an entire jar in your chosen size with roses. Pack the jar as full as possible and then fill it with olive oil. Stir the jar slightly and then place a cap on it. Allow the oil to infuse for two weeks before straining the roses out of the mixture to get the oil.
   • When you're done, you can add a splash of vitamin E oil to add nutrition.

Garnishing Foods with Rose Petals

1. Make candied rose petals. Candied rose petals can be used as a garnish to add sweetness to a variety of foods. To make candied rose petals, line a baking sheet with wax paper. Beat one egg and set aside a bowl of sugar. Remove the petals from two roses. One by one, dip each petal in the egg and then coat it with sugar. Set the roses out on the wax paper until they dry.
2. Add roses to cookies. Topping cookies with rose petals both adds a rosy flavor and creates a pleasant decoration. After frosting cookies, add rose petals to the top of the frosting. You can arrange them in a circle or another shape to create your desired decorations.
   • If you want extra rosy flavor, top the cookies with rose-flavored jam and then add rose petals.
   • If you want to add sweetness, use candied rose petals as a garnish.
3. Garnish ice cream with roses. Mixing some roses into a bowl of ice cream can add a mild flowery flavor to the dish. You can also garnish the top of ice cream with rose petals to decorate the dish and add flavor.
   • Make sure you do this with an ice cream that would pair well with a rose flavor, like vanilla or pistachio. Strong flavors, like fruit flavors, may not taste good with roses.
4. Add rose petals to salads. Sprinkle some rose petals into a salad and then mix them in. This can sweeten up an otherwise savory salad and add some color.
   • This goes great with a sweet yogurt-based dressing with a honey flavor.
   • About 10 to 15 fresh petals are usually enough to give your salad a rosy flavor.

Making Drinks with Roses

1. Make rosewater. Rosewater is used in a variety of dishes and drinks and you can make it yourself using rose petals. Remove the petals from about seven roses and place them in a pot. Pour in just enough distilled water to cover your roses. Simmer the water over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain the mixture to get the water and discard the petals. Store your rosewater in a glass jar.
2. Freeze roses in ice cubes. Place a few rose petals in each compartment of an ice cube tray. Then, fill the compartments with water and let the petals freeze into the ice cubes. You can add your rose ice cubes to a variety of drinks to add a rosy flavor.
   • Rose petal ice cubes also look pretty. At a party, have rose-infused ice cubes over regular ice cubes to add to the decorations.
3. Make tea with roses. To make tea with roses, simply boil a pot of water with a handful or rose petals. Once the water is boiling, cover the saucepan and allow the roses to boil for five minutes. Then, strain the water into teacups and flavor with honey.
4. Toss rose petals into cocktails. If you made rose syrup or rose water, add that to a cocktail. Rose syrup and water can be mixed with sweeter beverages, like prosecco, for a rosy, bubbly drink that you can serve at parties.
5. Make a refreshing rose-flavored drink. Boil some water and then toss in the petals from three roses. Switch off the heat and let the mixture steep for about six hours. Then, remove the petals and stir in three tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Cool in the refrigerator and then serve your drink once it's chilled.

Sources and Citations

See also

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• Make Oregano Olive Oil
• Make Italian Seasoned Chicken
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