I love using homemade rose water in creams and it also makes a wonderful body splash after the shower. Making it is super easy and it's fun too.
You'll need:
A large bath-water canning-type pot with a rounded lid
A heat-safe stainless steel or glass, quart-sized bowl
A brick (I use a red brick)
2 to 3 quarts of fresh rose petals
water
A small bag of Ice
1- Place the brick in the center of the large pot with the rounded lid. Place the quart bowl on top of the brick. Put the rose petals in the pot, around the brick. Cover the petals with water. The water should be just slightly above the top of the brick.
2- Place the rounded lid UPSIDE DOWN on the pot. Turn on the heat and bring the water to a rolling boil. Then lower the heat to a slow steady simmer and place plenty of ice on top of the down-curved lid. I can put an entire small bag of ice on mine!
You've now created a home still!
As the water boils, the steam rises, hits the top of the cold lid and condenses. As it condenses, it flows to the lower, center of the lid (where the handle is) and drips into the bowl.
3- About every 15 minutes or so, quickly lift the lid and take out a few tablespoon fulls of rose water out of the bowl. It's time to stop when you have between a pint and a quart of water that smells and tastes strongly of roses.
Don't collect water too long. After awhile, the roses are spent and the water will just be distilled water. If you collect almost a quart, stop, so you don't start adding plain water to your fabulous rose water and dilute the magic!
And don't stop with roses. You can make lavender, lily or any kind of scented flower water you like:)
You'll need:
A large bath-water canning-type pot with a rounded lid
A heat-safe stainless steel or glass, quart-sized bowl
A brick (I use a red brick)
2 to 3 quarts of fresh rose petals
water
A small bag of Ice
1- Place the brick in the center of the large pot with the rounded lid. Place the quart bowl on top of the brick. Put the rose petals in the pot, around the brick. Cover the petals with water. The water should be just slightly above the top of the brick.
2- Place the rounded lid UPSIDE DOWN on the pot. Turn on the heat and bring the water to a rolling boil. Then lower the heat to a slow steady simmer and place plenty of ice on top of the down-curved lid. I can put an entire small bag of ice on mine!
You've now created a home still!
As the water boils, the steam rises, hits the top of the cold lid and condenses. As it condenses, it flows to the lower, center of the lid (where the handle is) and drips into the bowl.
3- About every 15 minutes or so, quickly lift the lid and take out a few tablespoon fulls of rose water out of the bowl. It's time to stop when you have between a pint and a quart of water that smells and tastes strongly of roses.
Don't collect water too long. After awhile, the roses are spent and the water will just be distilled water. If you collect almost a quart, stop, so you don't start adding plain water to your fabulous rose water and dilute the magic!
And don't stop with roses. You can make lavender, lily or any kind of scented flower water you like:)
Just a little tip when making rose water:
ReplyDeleteThe reason you spoon the fresh rose water out of the bowl, is because whatever kind of brink you use, leaves a colored, wet sediment on the bottom of the bowl and that colored sediment, while slight, runs down the bottom of the bowl into the rose water if you try to pour it off. To remedy this, I place some paper towels on the counter and while wearing a heat-proof rubber glove, I lift the whole bowl out and set it on the paper towels for a few seconds to absorb the sediment before pouring the rose water into heat-proof jars ~ Just sharing :D