Roses and Rose Water
Recipes
By Lady
Tammarrion de Sidana April 2002
Background:
Rosewater is water that has had rose petals
infused into it. Often used in medieval cooking for its sweet flavour. Also
used in some medieval perfumes and cosmetics.
The roses used for flavoring are
called species roses
and are totally different than the hybrid teas which most people have in their
gardens. Hybrid teas have very little
scent while species roses sometimes have an overwhelming scent. Also teas usually bloom
throughout the season while species roses bloom all at once and are done for the year. In modern
manufacturing the leaves of the rose
geranium are more oftentimes than not used to produce "rose oil" because their scent is far more
"rose-like" than roses.
Recipes:
"The Medieval Home Companion",
translated and edited by Tania
Bayard:
Note: The manuscript used in
"The Medieval Home Companion" has also been translated as "Le Mesnagier de
Paris" (The Householder of Paris), and "The Goodman of Paris".
To make
rose water without an alembic:
Take a barber's basin, stretch a kerchief
over the mouth, and fasten it, covering the basin completely, like a drum. Put your roses on the
kerchief and above them
set the bottom of another basin containing hot cinders and live coals.
This recipe was from “Askham's
Herbal” (1550):
Some do
put rose water in a glass and they put roses with their dew hereto and they
make it to boile in water, then they set it in the sune tyll it be readde and
this water is beste.
Sir Hugh Plat's “Delightes for
Ladies” (1609) has a recipe for distillation of herb-waters, with additional
comments about different ways of doing rosewater. He assumes you are familiar
with the basics of distillation. Platt
is also in Cariadoc's cookbook collection volume 1.
To draw
both good Rosewater and oyle of Roses together After you have digested your Rose leaves by
the space of 3 moneths ...then distill them with fair water in a Limbeck: draw so long as you
can find any excellent smell of the Rose,
then divide the fattie oyle that fleeteth on the top of the Rosewater, and so you have both
excellent oyle of Roses, and also good
Rosewater together...
"Rose Recipes From Olden
Times" by Eleanour Sinclair Rohde:
To make an
excellent Rose-water, let the flowers be gathered two or
three hours after the sun-rising in very
fine weather; beat them in a
marble mortar into a paste, and leave them
in the mortar soaking in
their juice for five or six hours; then put
the mass into a coarse
canvas bag, and press out the juice to every
quart of which add a
pound of fresh Damask Roses, and let them
stand in infusion for twenty
four hours. Then put the whole into a glass
alembic, lute on a head of
receiver, and place it on sand heat. Distil
at first with a gentle
fire, which is to be increased gradually
till the drops follow each
other as quick as possible; draw off the
water as long as it continues
to run clear, then put out the fire, and let
the alembic stand till
cold. The distilled water at first will have
very little fragrancy,
but after being exposed to the heat of the
sun about eight days, in a
bottle lightly stopped with a bit of paper,
it acquires an admirable
scent.---The Toiler of Flora.
Modern Stovetop Method:
It is important to use petals that have never been sprayed with
insecticide. Pull off several
handfuls of petals into a colander and then
wash them in cold water. This is to get
rid of any stray bugs. Drop the leaves into a sauce pan, and just cover them with water. Heat gently on the stove. The water will be tinted by the petals. When the petals (or what's left of them) turn pasty white, and the water is
rose colored, strain the
petals out of the water. At this point
you can put in a new batch of petals to make it even stronger, but it isn't
absolutely necessary. It will keep for
quite a while in the refrigerator.
Solar Method:
Pick the
best scented roses you have. Place them in a gallon glass jar. Cover with water (Distilled water that can
be bought at the store in gallon jugs is best). Set the roses and water out in
the sun for about 2 weeks. Check to see
if you get the scent you are searching for.
If it is not ready yet, then let it set in the sun for another week. When you have reached the desired scent,
strain the flowers from the water and place the rose scented water in a cool,
shady area or the refrigerator.
List of Medieval Roses: (All are
non-repeat bloomers unless otherwise indicated)
Pliny
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
"cultivated prior to 1500"
Red, strong fragrance,3-5 ft. tall, semi-double bloom 2-3" dia.Time-Life
Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975, Sunset Roses 1989, Wild & Old Roses
"pre-Roman" - WO
Clear pink, highly scented; loose blossoms, large plant open & thorny with
light yellowish grey-green foliage, double flowers; repeat bloom.
Sunset Roses 1989; Wild & Old Roses
Pliny
Lost Roses
Pliny
?Reddish purple blossom, early Spring bloom.
Possible Cinnamon Rose - R. cinnamomea.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Winter Bloom; from Spain.
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
"ancient rose from Asia Minor, intro. into Europe 16th
C." - T/L; "introduced to Europe in 12th C. (crusades)"
"first written reference Virgil 50 B.C." - Taylor's.
Red, pink or white with occassional stripes, strong fragrance, 4-5 ft tall,
double flowers 2 1/2-3 1/2" dia.
Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975; Taylor's
"Cultivated prior to 1551"
Pink, apple scented foliage, flower sweet true rose scent; disease free and
winter hardy
Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975, Wild & Old Roses, Taylor's
"a grand rose of great antiquity"; "about
1450"
White, muddled centers open as creamy blush which changes to white, to 6ft.,
lead green leaves in bunches mostly @ top, blooms double, flat, abundant,
excellent hips, grows to 7' tall, very fragrant.
Wild & Old Roses
Pliny mentions.
Great fragrance.
Modern is not the same (dev. c. 1700); original became extinct in ancient
times.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Fiery red, late spring bloom.
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Last to fade.
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
Pliny
Lost Roses
"Cultivated prior to 100 AD"
White, moderate fragrance, 6-8 ft. tall, orig. var. single 5 petal 2-3"
dia. profuse bloom. Hardiness, vigor, happy under all conditions, wet, dry, sun
or shade - WO
Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975; Wild & Old Roses
"Mediterranean, Cretan wall paintings 16th C BC",
Pliny - WO
Clear pink, "delicious" scent.
Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975, Wild & Old Roses
"cultivated prior to 1581"; " pre-16th
century" - WO
Striped red, white & pink with yellow stamens, moderate scent, 3 1/2-5 ft
tall, semi-double blossom, 2-3" dia.
Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975, Sunset Roses 1989, Wild & Old Roses
"prior to 1583"?
a wild rose native to the warmer Mediterranean areas like the south of France
Lost Roses
Pliny
Possible gallica.
Lost Roses
"Introduced 1596 by John Gerard, Catalogus"
Deep crimson with conspicuous yellow stamen, slight fragrance, 3-4 ft vigorous
upright bushes, velvety semi-double bloom 2 1/2-4" dia.Time-Life Enc. of
Gard. - Roses 1975; Lost Roses
"prior to 1455?"; "prior to 1473"
White, with golden yellow stamens; flower nearer single than a semi-double,
excellent hips, grows to 6' tall, very fragant.
Wild & Old Roses
"1551"; "cultivated prior to 1700";
"first recorded by Monardes in 1551" - WO
White, pink or combination, fragrant to moderately fragrant, variously
described as "3-4' bushy, very bristly and thorny, blooms 2 1/2-3"
double 24-30 petals loosely cup shaped; not very vigorous, disease free and
winter hardy" and "4-7 ft tall, semi-double flowers, 1 1/2-2
1/2" dia. less than 20 petals, clusters of 3-5 on long stem".
Taylor's; Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975; Wild & Old Roses
Native to Europe.
"brought to Europe thru Spain by Moors before 13th
Century" - T/L; "known prior to 1590, said from Asia Minor via
Vienna, hence 'Austrian'" - WO; "before 1590" - Taylor's; "
it was grown in the Arab world as early as the 12th C" - Austin.
Orange (flame)-yellow, heavy aroma, flowers single 5 petal 2-21/2" dia.
4-5 ft tall moderately thorny; apparent susceptibility to Black Spot, not
reliably winter hardy.
Time-Life Enc. of Gard. - Roses 1975; Wild & Old Roses; Taylor's; Austin.
"one of Pliny's 12 roses which the Romans knew"
Very hardy, variable habit; mid-summer flowering, variable colour. Used for
understock (root graft stock) for many modern roses.
Wild & Old Roses
White, creamy, little or no fragrance; musk ?; 4-5 cm
flower, flowers in July, single.
May be Shakespeare's Musk Rose or White Rose of York
Wild & Old Roses; Lost Roses
Pliny
VeryAutumn bloom.
Possible musk rose.
Lost Roses
"prior to 1600"
White, musk fragrance, single flower, rapid reflex, late summer-autumn, 10-12
ft. Sunny
Wild & Old Roses; Lost Roses
Species; native to Europe.
Deep Pink with Yellow stamens, 1 1/2-2' high. Eastern Canada
& New England
Wild & Old Roses
Clear soft lilac pink flowers with cream stamens, flowers
very early in spring. BC to Mexico.
Wild & Old Roses
White or pale pink, exhilarating & fresh scent, widest
variation - 9" to 3'; flowers May & June; small blooms, profuse single
5 petal, veryhardy.
Ranges to Iceland
Wild & Old Roses; Lost Roses; Taylor's
White, creamy, little or no fragrance; musk ?; 4-5 cm
flower, flowers in July, single.
May be Shakespeare's Musk Rose or White Rose of York
Wild & Old Roses; Lost Roses
"prior to 1600"
White, musk fragrance, single flower, rapid reflex, late summer-autumn, 10-12
ft. Sunny
Wild & Old Roses; Lost Roses
·
Austin, David. The Heritage of the Rose. n.l.: Antique
Collector's Club, 1988. (ISBN1-85149-020-5)
·
Christopher, Thomas. In Search of Lost Roses.
New York: Summit Books, 1989.
·
Crockett, James Underwood and the editors of Time-Life
Books. Roses. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1978. (Time-Life
Encyclopedia of Gardening (series))
·
DeWolf, Gordon P., ed. Taylor's Guide to Roses.
Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1986.
·
Edwards, Gordon. Wild and Old Garden Roses. New
York: Hafner Press, 1975.
·
Editors of Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine. Roses.
Menlo Park, CA: Lane Publishing, 1989.
Pickering Nurseries Inc.
(http://www.pickeringnurseries.com/)
PICKERING NURSERIES INC.
3043 COUNTRY ROAD RR1
PORT HOPE ON L1A 3V5
Heirloom Old Garden Roses (http://www.heirloomroses.com)
24062 Riverside Dr NE
St Paul OR 97137
(503) 538-1576.
Vintage Gardens (http://www.vintagegardens.com)
2833 Old Gravenstein Hwy. So.
Sebastopol, California 95472
VOICE (707) 829-2035 FAX (707) 829-9516
Old Rose
Nursery
(http://www.oldrosenursery.com)
1020 Central Road
Hornby Island BC
Phone: (250) 335-2603
Fax: (250) 335-2602
(Will only sell/ship to Canada)
Regan Nursery (http://www.regannursery.com)
4268 Decoto Road
Fremont, CA 94558
800 249-4680
Fax 510 793-5408
High
Country Roses (was High Country Rosarium)
(http://highcountryroses.com)
PO Box 148
Jensen, Utah 84035
Phone: 435-789-3371 or 800-552-2082
Fax: 435-789-5517
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