DIY Homemade Rosewater Quality homemade rosewater starts with the most fragrant garden roses that have been grown organically. This simple how-to makes it easy to create your own rosewater for cooking, scenting linens, or make-your-own cosmetics. 1: Rosewater is popular for making make-your-own cosmetics 2: I like to choose a mixture of super fragrant antique and and for flavoring Mediterranean and Middle Eastern desserts. modern roses of various colors for the best fragrance and color. When it comes to quality homemade rose water, it’s all about the Keep in mind, this flower water recipe can also be used to make roses. The more fragrant and colorful, the better. orange blossom, elderflower, and violet water.

3: Antique roses with exceptional fragrance were the first used 4: These include old cultivated roses, such as the Ancient to make rose water and distilled rose oil. Persian Damask Rose, European Gallica or Apothecary’s Rose, and 19th-century tea-scented China rose, as well as newer roses bred for fragrance.

5: Damask shrub roses are still the #1 plants used in perfumery 6: Their summer flowers have a strong fruity rose scent and today. tightly doubled flowers of pink or white. 7: Gallica shrub roses have strongly fragrant, full to semi double 8: Most varieties bloom just once in summer, though a few will flowers of red, burgundy red, or crimson purple. rebloom.

9: Named for their black tea and rose fragrance, tea-scented 10: There are many varieties available. China roses are hybrid teas with double blooms of white, pink, yellow, or peach.

11: New fragrant rose varieties are all everblooming, meaning 12: Three of the best are the deep-orange tea rose, ‘Fragrant you can harvest them throughout the growing season. Cloud’, the blackberry red ‘Munstead Cloud’, and candy pink ‘Harlow Carr’. 13: Making Rosewater 14: Ingredients Needed: Rose Petals ( from 12 roses or more), Distilled Water, Heat-safe Container, Kettle or Pan, Plastic Wrap, Strainer, and Small Containers or Spray Bottles.

15: Collect the petals from at least 12 roses. Gather them before 16: Place the rose petals in a heat-safe container. midmorning when they are most fragrant. Consider color when choosing your petals. Deep red roses make the prettiest pink rosewater.

17: Bring distilled water to a boil in a pan or kettle and pour it 18: Place plastic wrap over the container and let the petals steep over the petals until they are just covered. like tea for at least 30 minutes, or until cool. 19: Once cool, strain the water into a glass jar or spray bottle, 20: I like to use garden-fresh rosewater as a facial tonic, to scent label, and store in a cool, dark place or the refrigerator. Home- linens, or to flavor desserts. made rosewater generally has a shelf life of month, but it can last longer. Just take a sniff before using.

21: Enjoy!

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