Oils of Remembrance - Workshop .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

The fragrance of herbs and flowers can invoke emotions, awakening memories of events that hold significance in our lives.    

In the wake of the 100^th anniversary of the ANZACS, the fragrance of Rosemary, the herb of remembrance, invokes strong emotions linked to the sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand soldiers in WWI, particularly at Gallipoli.

The volatile oils held in the leaves of herbs and some flowers usually release their fragrance when brushed against in the garden, or picked and crushed in your hand.  

Their fragrance may linger in the air for a moment, or longer on our skin, but it vaporises quickly and is lost.

It is possible to capture these volatile oils so that their fragrance is more readily available.  One of the easiest ways of doing this is through infusing the herb leaves or flower petals in a good quality vegetable oils.  

Perhaps you have been given a pretty rose bouquet that has special meaning.  Roses hold their fragrance in their flower petals, releasing this readily in the warm sun. That’s why warm, sunny Autumn days are some of the best days to smell the irresistible fragrance of roses in the garden.

It’s easy to retain this fragrance by infusing the rose petals in a good quality olive oil.  

You can use the following method for fragrant herbs, such as Rosemary, Basil or even Mint.   

To make rose-infused oil:

Implements:

1 clean glass jar with a screw top lid – do not use plastic containers as this will contaminate the rose oil

1 clean long handled spoon

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cups of fragrant (unsprayed) fresh rose petals.  Use red roses for rose-coloured oil, but any coloured fragrant roses will infuse the oil with a rose fragrance

2 cups of good quality light olive oil (not virgin as it has a stronger aroma that will dominate the rose fragrance)

Method:

Shake the rose petals to remove insects and dust  - do not wash in water as they will go mouldy

Place the fresh rose petals in the clean glass jar

Pour over the olive oil

Press the rose petals gently down with the spoon so that they are below the surface of the oil

Screw on the lid and leave the jar on a kitchen bench but not in direct light for up to 10 days

Remove rose petals and re-seal

For a stronger fragrance add more fresh rose petals after you have removed the first lot of rose petals and leave to infuse for a further 10 days  

Always remove the petals so that they do not rot and contaminate the oil 

You now have rose-fragranced oil that will bring back special memories each time you open the lid.  Use it as a natural skin moisturiser.  The rose oils infused in the olive oil also have gentle moisturising and healing properties. 

This oil can also be used in recipes requiring a gentle rose flavour and fragrance.  

Lovely ...