Back to Cooking Menu
Back to Main Index

Rose
(Rosa sp.)

Petals and hips should be taken from organic scented roses; those which have not been sprayed or been near to spraying or road pollution.

Rose Candy Rose Hip Jam Rose Petal/Crab Apple Jelly
Roses, Crystallized Rose Hip Sauce Rose Hip/Cranberry Jelly
Rose Hip Jelly Rose Petal Jam Rose Petal Sandwiches


Rose Candy

Pick rose petals in the early morning while still dewy. Place a layer of petals, 1-inch thick, in a stone crock. Cover layer with a generous amount of brown sugar. Add alternate layers of rose petals and sugar, pressing down tightly till crock is full, ending with a layer of sugar on the top. Cover crock and let stand for 3 months. At that time, the petals and sugar will have candied and be ready to eat.


Roses, Crystallized

Gather roses on a dry day after the dew has evaporated. Before gathering roses, dissolve 2 oz of gum arabic in 1/2 pint of water. Separate the rose petals and spread them on dishes. Sprinkle them with the gum arabic solution, using as many petals as the solution will cover. Then spread them on sheets of waxed paaper and sprinkle with castor sugar. Allow to dry for 24 hours. Put 1 lb of loaf sugar and 1/2 pint of cold water into a pan, stirring until the sugar has melted, then boil fast to 250ºF, or to the 'thread' degree. Keep the syrup well skimmed. Place rose petals into shallow dishes and pour the syrup over. Leave them to soak for 24 hours, then spread them on wire trays and dry in a cool oven with the door ajar. The syrup can be colored with food coloring to give the petals more color. Rose petals can also be used to flavor butter.


Rose Hip Jelly
3 lbs ripe rose hips
2 cups cold water (or just enough to cover hips in pan)
6 cups sugar
6 oz liquid pectin

Remove any spines from hips, then wash and remove any 'tails'. Place in saucepan. Add water, bring to a boil and cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes. If you wish to speed up the cooking, gently crush the hips with a potato masher. Remove from heat and pour through a jelly bag. Recover 5 cups of juice. Add juice to saucepan with sugar and mix thoroughly, then bring to a boil. Add pectin and bring to a boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, skim foam and pour off into hot, sterile jelly jars and seal. Jelly will be a soft pink color.


Rose Hip Jam
3 lbs ripe rose hips
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup sugar per cup of juice
6 oz. liquid pectin

Wash and remove any spines from rose hips. Place into sauce pan and add water, then bring to a boil. Simmer till fruit breaks open and juices run. Remove form heat and strain mixture through a food mill. To each cup of pulp, add 1 cup of sugar. Mix thorughly and bring to a boil. Add pectin and boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, skim foam, and pour into hot, sterile jelly jars and seal.
(Rose hips can be combined with other fruit if desired. Use 1½ lbs of rose hips and 1½ lbs. of other fruit as desired and combine the pulps.)


Rose Hip Sauce
2 cups rosehips
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

Place water and sugar in a pan and boil till sugar has melted. Slice hips in half and add to sugar mixture. Cook gently for 1 hour. Strain through a sieve and cool.


Rose Petal Jam
12 cups red rose petals
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup honey
juice of 2 lemons

If necessary, collect over a period of several days, keeping each day's pickings sprinkled with a little lemon juice in a covered jar. Snip off the bitter white heels. Simmer petals in a little water till tender, then stir in sugar, honey and lemon juice. Cook till syrup is thick. Pour into warm, sterile jelly jars and seal.


Rose Petal & Crab Apple Jelly
1 pint of rose petals (fill a 1 pint jar completely)
1 quart ripe crab apples
1½ cups of sugar per cup of juice
6 oz liquid pectin

Cover petals with boiling water and cover. Keep out of bright light and allow to sit for 24 hours. The next day, strain and collect the liquid. Wash and stem crab apples, then cook in a little water till soft. Mash apples to release the juice, then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain through a jelly bag, but do not squeeze (clouds the jelly). Combine liquid from rose petals, juice from crab apples and sugar. Mix thoroughly, then bring to a boil for 1 full minute, or till the sugar has completely dissolved. Add pectin and hold at a full boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Skim foam and pour into hot, sterile jelly jars and seal. Color will be a dark pink.


Rose Hip & Cranberry Jelly
1 pint of rose petals (fill a 1 pint jar completely)
2 cups of cranberries
1 cup of water
4 cups sugar

Snip off bitter white heels. Cover with boiling water and cover. Keep out of bright light and allow to sit for 24 hours. The next day, strain and collect the liquid. Clean and remove stems from cranberries, then boil in the 1 cup of water for 20 minutes, or till juice runs freely. Strain through a sieve. Combine rose petal liquid and cranberry juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then add sugar. Boil till sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat, skim off foam and pour into hot, sterile jelly jars and seal.


Rose Petal Sandwiches

Put a layer of red rose petals in the bottom of a jar or covered dish. Put in 4 oz. of fresh butter wrapped in waxed paper. Cover with a thick layer of rose-petals. Cover closely and leave in a cool place overnight. The more fragrant the roses, the better the flavor imparted to the butter. Cut bread in thin slices or circles, then spread each witht he butter and place several petals from fresh red roses between the slices, allowing the edges to show. Violets or clover blossoms may be used in place of roses.



©2000 by Ernestina Parziale

top