Tea Rooms - Rose Petal Syrup ... AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Rose Petal Syrup captures the fragrance and colour of red roses.  

This simple sugar syrup is used cold to flavour numerous recipes; in whipped cream for cakes and deserts; frozen as a delicious sorbet;  to make home-made lemonade pink, or as a simple cordial with chilled sparkling water. 

The basic ingredients are raw, granulated sugar, water and fresh rose petals.  As for any recipes using rose petals make sure your roses have NOT been sprayed with any pesticides or anti-fungal solutions. 

Rose Petal Syrup

Ingredients:  

4 cups of fresh rose petals; 200 grams of raw granulated sugar, 175 millilitres of tap water.

To make: 

First, pick six red, fragrant just-opened roses.  

For this recipe I chose a mixture of highly perfumed, dark pink Tea roses, Mrs Reynolds Hole, Mrs B R Cant and Francis Dubrieul; the very fragrant, deep pink Bourbon rose, Mme Isaac Periere and the bright red modern climber, Red Pierre.

To prepare the roses, shake them upside down to remove insects and dust.  Rinse quickly under cool running water.  Shake dry.   Now pull the rose petals away from the green base of the rose and snip off the bitter white bases of the petals.  This can be done in one snip as you hold the rose petals together after you have pulled them away from the base.  

Measure the rose petals.  You will need approx 4 loose cups or around 60 grams of rose petals (measurements do not need to be exact).  Place the petals in a heat-proof glass bowl.  The volume of rose petals should be loose and not pressed down at this stage. 

To make the simple sugar syrup measure 200 grams of granulated raw sugar and place in a heavy based saucepan.  Add 175 millilitres of tap water.  Bring the sugar and water mixture to a light boil and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Take the syrup off the heat and pour over the rose petals taking care not to splash the very hot liquid onto your skin.  The syrup will wither the rose petals and reduce their volume by at least two thirds.   Push all of the rose petals into the syrup with a wooden spoon.

Cover the bowl with cling film (this will preserve the volatile oils released by the rose petals) and allow to steep until cool.  

Strain the rose petals off but do not discard (save the rose petals for my 'rose petal preserve' recipe coming soon).  Now pour the cool liquid into a clean, sterile glass jar with a screw top lid.  You should have a  pink and lusciously fragrant syrup.  Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  

Your Rose Petal Syrup is now ready to use.  (Recipe adapted from Geraldine Holt’s ‘Complete Book of Herbs’.)