Rose water (Maward)

June 22, 2013  •  Category:

 

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. 

3ater

Comments

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  1. 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 🙂

    • 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! 🙂

  2. Rosa says:

    Extremely fragrant and heavenly!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  3. 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.

  4. Belinda @zomppa says:

    Never thought to make own (duh), but rose water is so lovely on the skin!

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  7. 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”.

  8. Susan says:

    I have many roses but not that one!

  9. 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

  10. Janah says:

    I saw some recipe on how to make rose water, and it sounds so delicious. hehe.

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