How To Make Rose Water

The sweet smell and lovely fragrance of rose water is enough to lift anyone’s mood. Such is the effect of this natural skin toner and gentle moisturizer. Apart from this, rose water is widely used in the kitchen in the preparation of a multiplicity of scrumptious delicacies. This versatility of rose water marks it one of the most widely used distilled water. Prepared from fresh and fragrant rose petals, rose water is loaded with numerous healing qualities that benefit the skin. Use it as a toner to cleanse and hydrate your skin, dilute it with glycerin and you have a wonderful hand and skin softener, or include it in one of the aroma therapeutic bath to calm your mind and spirit. All these are delivered to you, but with a lovely and heavenly aroma of ‘roses’. Now, with so many uses of rose water, purchasing rose water from store turns out to be an expensive fare. Instead, make some at home so that you can extract the maximum benefits out of it. Let’s look at the recipe for preparing homemade rose water by steering through the lines below.

Image: stu_spivack@flickr

Homemade Rosewater Recipe

Recipe 1

Things Required

3-4 quarts fresh Rose Petals
Ice Cubes
Distilled Water
Enamel Canning/ Stock Pot (with lid)
Deep, heavy Heat-Proof Bowl

Instructions

Cover the bottom of the pot with freshly plucked rose petals.
Pour enough water over the petals until they are just covered.
Place the bowl in the center of the pot. Choose a bowl that has a rim at least couple of inches higher than the water. For best results, place a canning rack over the water and the bowl over the rack.
Secure the lid over the pot, but position it upside down such that the lid forms a container to hold the ice.
Place the pot over fire and set the water for boiling.
On boiling, fill the inverted lid of the pot with ice cubes.
Reduce the heat to a simmer for about 2 hours.
Top the lid with ice as and when needed. Peep through the pot occasionally to ensure that the petals do not boil dry.
This process will lead to condensation of the water that boils in the pot. The water that reaches the top of the lid inside the pot will condense and drip down into the bowl forming rose water.

Recipe 2

Things Required

Rose Petals
Distilled Water
Enamel Pot (any size)

Instructions

Fill the pot with few inches of rose petals.
Pour distilled water, enough to cover the petals.
Set the water for boiling.
When the water turns steaming hot, turn off the heat and allow the water to take the color off the petals. Make sure that the water does not boil.
The entire procedure will take about one hour, after which you can see rose oil floating on the surface.
Strain the liquid in a clean bottle and squeeze out the maximum liquid from the rose petals.

Recipe 3

Things Required

3-5 Roses (depending on the size of the roses)
2 cups Distilled Water
Heat-resistant Glass Bowl (with cover)
Wide-mouthed Glass Jar
Cheesecloth, Cotton Gauze, or Kitchen Strainer

Instructions

Pluck out the rose petals from the roses to get one packed cup of petals.
Place the rose petals in the glass bowl.
Add boiling water and cover the bowl with a lid or cover.
Allow the rose mixture to settle for about 20-30 minutes.
Place cheesecloth on the glass jar and pour the water into the jar, collecting the rose petals on the cheesecloth.
Discard the rose petals and allow the rose water to cool down.
Add one tablespoon of alcohol, such as vodka, in the rose water as a preservative. Stir to mix well. This rose water will keep for about 4 weeks, or longer if you store in the refrigerator.
If you wish to avoid the alcohol, your rose water will keep for 7-10 days.

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