Rose Water

Rose water can be used as a mild facial astringent, for cooking, as a perfume, and as a hair rinse. It’s fairly expensive in the stores, but pretty easy to make at home.

In baking, you can use it to lend a delicate flavor to cupcakes, cookies, and frostings. It’s a favorite in many Middle Eastern cuisines for its unique taste.

As a beauty product, rose water has been used for ages for clear and healthy skin. It also makes your hair super shiny (This is what I used mine for. Seriously, gorgeous!). It also has a lovely scent, so it can be used as a very light perfume.

Rose Water, Step-by-Step

First put your rose petals in a pot and cover them with water. They have a tendency to float, so crush them down a bit with a wooden spoon.

Then cook the petals on low for 30 minutes to an hour. Do NOT let the water boil or even simmer. The petals are done when they lose their color and look like this:

Then strain the water. I used my colander for that. The color of the water will depend on the color the petals were when you started. I’ve had it come out yellow and various shades of pink. This time it come a pretty of dark maroon!