They sustain us with their nutrition, heal us with their energy, awaken us with their sensual fragrances and picture-perfect elegance. This blog is a celebratory dance for the body and mind with plants: for the body there are how-tos for making oils, tinctures, teas, crafts, and snacks; for the mind there are cultural perspectives, mystical lore and scientific tidbits about the world of the Plant People. So, come foray in the green with me, and let's see what we find...

Monday, June 3, 2013

Rose Water

.


        Rose water is one of several products you can buy or make that retains the fragrance of rose petals. It is used in perfumes and cosmetics, plus it has slightly astringent properties, so it makes an excellent facial toner. Because the commercial process used to make rose water is labor intensive and requires a lot of roses, it's an expensive product to buy.

        However, if you have roses, you can make your own rose water quite easily.  It's an easy example of distillation, a chemical separation and purification process.





Rose Water Materials

•    2-3 quarts rose petals
•    water
•    ice cubes
•    pot with rounded lid
•    brick
•    bowl that fits inside pot


1.    Place the brick in the center of the pot. There is nothing magical about the brick. Its purpose is simply to hold the collection bowl above the surface of the roses.
2.    Put the rose petals in the pot (around the brick) and add enough water to barely cover the petals.
3.    Set the bowl on top of the brick. The bowl will collect the rose water.
4.    Invert the lid of the pot (turn it upside down), so the rounded part of the lid dips into the pot.
5.    Heat the roses and water to a gentle boil.
6.    Place ice cubes on the top of the lid. The ice will cool the steam, condensing the rose water inside the pot and making it run down the lid and drip into the bowl.
7.    Continue gently boiling the roses and adding ice as needed until you have collected the rose water. Don't boil off all the water. You'll collect the most concentrated rose water in the first few minutes. After that, it will become more and more dilute. Turn off the heat when you notice the condensation isn't as rose-scented as you would like. You can collect between a pint and quart of rose water in 20-40 minutes using 2-3 quarts of rose petals.



.
,

No comments:

Post a Comment