Rose water (Maward)
June 22, 2013 • Category: Beverages
Rose water is used in amost all sweets, desserts, puddings; in the south, folks add rose petals to their spice mix called kammooneh. In the Gulf countries, rose water is even added to rice dishes; it is sold in all the ethnic markets or health-food markets in the US; rose water is supposed to be a great skin tonic. It was applied to soothe skin burns. It is used for religious purposes.
The only problem is this: Is the bottle of rose water, really, distilled rose water?
In most cases, no. It is water flavored with rose essence.
The solution is to plant a rose bush in your yard and distill the petals yourself. Not any rose bush, though. Rosa Damascena.
Comments
12 Comments • Comments Feed
Paula Mello says:
Beautiful, Joumana! I have roses in my backyard, but I don’t know what kind they’re. Do you make jam with rose petals? I’ve heard that is absurdly delicious 🙂
On June 22, 2013 at 8:59 am
Joumana says:
@Paula Mello: You make jam or syrup, sure. These roses come from a variety that is very thorny, but it grows in many places; i saw it once in Dallas, in a pot at a gas station! 🙂
On June 22, 2013 at 9:07 am
Rosa says:
Extremely fragrant and heavenly!
Cheers,
Rosa
On June 22, 2013 at 10:42 am
Alicia (foodycat) says:
I don’t think I am up to distilling my own! I put some rosewater in a dessert today. I always store it in a bottle with a spray lid so that I can spritz some on my face while I cook with it.
On June 22, 2013 at 11:23 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
Never thought to make own (duh), but rose water is so lovely on the skin!
On June 22, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Ivy says:
Beautiful! Reminds me of home. My mother used to make rose water. This is one of the plants I want to have in our garden whenever I find it.
On June 22, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Mark Wisecarver says:
Awesome! Just a bit in your Tea is also great and yes everyone can make this.
Here’s a decent Youtube video showing how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJKbqxj3PJg
On June 23, 2013 at 9:33 am
Joumana says:
@Mark: Thanks so much, you are a dear! 🙂
On June 23, 2013 at 10:36 am
Lea Ann says:
Joumana, it was so good to hear from you. Thanks for the comment on my Salmon post. These are absolutely beautiful photos of rose petals. I’ve never used it for cooking or had it at a restaurant in any food. Good information about “is it really rose water”.
On June 23, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Susan says:
I have many roses but not that one!
On June 24, 2013 at 1:34 pm
KHALID says:
I WORK FOR THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE UNDER UNDP PROJECT, WE LOOKING TO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT EXTRACT WATER FROM ROSE, SO WE CAN GET TRAINING IN THIS ONE IN LEBANON.
I LOOKFORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU.
REGARDS
KHALID
On August 12, 2013 at 1:54 am
Janah says:
I saw some recipe on how to make rose water, and it sounds so delicious. hehe.
On July 20, 2015 at 2:06 am