Aprille, all roses NOT sprayed with pesticides are edible -- but some taste better than others,
so before using them, you might want to taste them.
(Some are very bitter. I am told that Golden Celebration is very tasty.)

One thing. Be sure to cut off the area where the petal attaches.
That (I have been told by someone who cooks with roses) is almost invariably bitter.

Jeri

To the best of my knowledge, as long as they have not been treated with pesticide (sprayed on or applied via the roots, as a systemic pesticide) all roses have edible rose petals, although the flavors imparted by the various rose cultivars will not all be identical (since the scents are not identical).

Thank you Jeri & york rose - I guess all my roses apply then since I don't spray :o) - I was thinking maybe Mary Rose, Charles de Mills or Sharifa Asma as these have a lot of blooms right now and have smaller petals .. will go try them out and see.

Thanks again - I've very excited to try this out.

Aprille

Aprille, I was at a recent rose book exhibition which featured a guided tour by Clair Martin of the Huntington Gardens, and Clair mentioned that he served a punch at the "Great Rosarians of the World" reception recently and that they "spiked" the drink with some rose water (along with plenty of booze) to give it rose flavor (go easy...this stuff is strong).

But perhaps even more interesting, is that they took some tupperware-type containers and froze a little filtered water in them, then (once frozen) added a whole rose flower and more water and froze that. Then at the party the blocks with the flowers inside were floated in the punch, He said this got lots of ohhhs and ahhhs.

Petals are also pretty in salads.

Bill

Around Halloween and Thanksgiving, the urn-shaped, formerly hard, green and shiny fruit, called rose hips, gradually become soft, scarlet, and full of delicious pulp. As the leaves turn yellow and drop for winter, the hips make an attractive show. I take the most plump and lovely hips, and gently squeeze them, as one would a tube of toothpaste. This way the pulp oozes forth, while the hairy little seeds stay in the skin. I have eaten dozens of different kinds of rose hips. The dog rose, Rosa canina, is an easy first choice in this regard. The over hyped Rosa rugosa has huge hips, but they are relatively mealy. The best clones of Rosa rugosa are not to be sniffed at, but I prefer dog rose in my garden

Here is a link that might be useful: Arthur Lee Jacobson Plant of the Month Novermber 2007

Didn't catch this was about petals only.

Rose petals also can be candied and then used as decoration on appropriate cakes & pastries. (Other edible flowers such as violets can be candied as well.)

I would think the flavor of the rose petals would get lost in a sangria--too many stronger flavors. Now, an angel food cake with a light white frosting fluttering with rose petals...

Or an angel food cake to which a teaspoon or less of rose water was added to the batter maybe? Mmmmmm......... ;-)

The Kazanlak rose is very delicious. I testify because have eaten and drunk it, lol

This spring I made rose petal jam for the first time, using about half and half cramoisi superieur and Threse Bugnet. The color was FABULOUS--I can PM pictures if anyone wants. It is also VERY rosy in flavor--a teaspoon-full on a cracker is enough; a tablespoon on angel food cake is heavenly. (Next time I'm not going to "firmly pack" the petals as the recipe calls for!)

A hit from the cookbook I used said to hold the whole flower and then snip off the white heel of the petals with sharp kitchen shears. MUCH easier than snipping petal by petal by petal. :-)

remontant,
Can you post your rose petal jam reciepe? It sounds so good! Would love to see a picture!
jenn

The recipe if from Phyllis V. Shaudys' _Herbal Treasures_ (Storey/Garden Way, 1990). If you can tell me how to post pictures in the text, I can insert pictures of the whole process or will just post this one of the finished product in the link box. :-)

Kathleen's Rose-Petal Jam

1 quart fragrant rose petals, tightly packed (pesticide free)
(I made a note to try 2 cups tightly packed instead of a full quart next time because the flavor was SO strong.)
3 cups water
1 package Sure-Jell pectin
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
4 cups sugar

Heat the petals and water to boiling. Steep for 20 minutes, gently pushing petals into the liquid occasionally. Strain, reserve petals. Measure liquid, and add water to make 3 cups. Mix liquid with Sure-Jell and lemon juice. In a large stainless steel pot, bring the mixture to a boil over high head. Add the sugar, bring to a hard, rolling boil, and boil for exactly one minute. Immediately remove from heat and stir in reserved rose petals. Stir for a few minutes more to prevent petals from floating in the jars. Pour into sterilized jars, and seal.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:263669}}

That sounds marvelous! The spring flush would be a dandy time to gather rose petals...which has past for me, but I'll be collecting in the near future. Thank you for posting!

Remontant,
Thank you so much for sharing your receipe. Your rose petal jam is gorgeous! I am making a note of this, I am not certain of which roses I could use, but I am excited to try this! How many jars did this make for you?
Thank you,
I use Flicker or Photobucket to post pics'. Once you upload the photo's to the site, then you copy and paste a code.. it is really easy!

Aprille, I am waiting to hear how the Sangria's turn out! I am sure it will be delicious!
Jenn

Jen, I only could find these wierd 12 oz. jars in the store when I went (off-season, I guess) so 36 ounces here plus about another half a jar I'm keeping in the fridge, so about 42 ounces. If you use the 1/2 pint (4 ounce) jelly jars (which is what I *usually* use) you'd get ten jars per recipe.

(I tried putting in the Photobucket code in my previous post but must have used the wrong one because it just had the letters and not the image.) [IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/Remontant/Rose/rosewater.jpg[/IMG]

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:263671}}

And this one is where I strained out the petals. Don't you love the color of the rosewater?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:263673}}

That is so pretty! My little Crami is so small... if my Zephy wasn't just about done, that would have been good.
What do you think about the lighter roses? It just won't be as pretty. I am definitely going to try this, I hope I can utilize the roses from the last of my flush.. Also, did you put them back in the bath for like an additional ten minutes? Any idea on how long they keep?

for photobucket, use the code that is in the middle, the html code, {{gwi:263677}}
thank you again for sharing, this is a great idea!
jenn
ps I am so sorry for the hijack Aprille!

*Blush* Sorry from me too, Aprille!

I didn't do a second water bath on the rose petals because the recipe didn't call for it. I do when I can blueberries because those recipes do call for it--not sure why/why not with that recipe and not this. The rose-petal jars did vacuum seal just fine, however. No idea as to shelf life--I'm guessing the usual six months.

I tossed in a bloom from Ducher and a Stanwell Perpetual as well because they both smell so good, but it should work with only white petals. I'm sure it would taste as good. You could always try it and if you didn't like the color of the rosewater, save it for skin lotion (rosewater and glycerin) instead.

The most traditional rose for jellies and confectionery is Rosa gallica Conditorum, aka the Hungarian Tidbit Rose. It's perfect also for potpourri as it smells stronger after drying than fresh. I have this rose but unfortunately, I am not fond of rose jam and prefer tart and spicy pickled rose hips to go with game and other meats.

Hey you guys - no fair! ha ha - you can "hijack" the thread any time if the outcome is the recipe for that gorgeous Jam. Yum - I want to try that too.

Thank you everyone for all your words of advice and all the other suggestions for rose petal use as well. Angle Food cake and rose petals sound yum. There was this lady who worked with DH years ago who was an excellent baker and I know she used fresh rose petals and candied them for decorations on her cakes sometimes.

The Sangria turned out really well. It was a bit strong so we ended up adding some sparkling Lemonade and some sparkling water as well - just so our guests would not get too drunk! lol - I used petals from my Sharifa Asma - people really loved the rose petals in their drinks ... it was my first attempt at making an alcoholic beverage (I don't drink much) and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Thanks again for all the input and suggestions and the recipe for that Jam :o)

Aprille

Aprille, so glad the sangria turned out to be such a hit--it sounds lovely in every sense of the word!

I've actually tasted Roseraie de l'Hay blooms and I find them delicious. Would probably be delicious in salads.

Aprille,
Good tip on the reciepe being a little strong. I saved this reciepe so, I will make a note. Thank you for this fun post!
Jenn

I've eaten Rosa rugosa petals before and like them just fine.

Interesting topic. Can you use petals that have been treated with fungicide? I do not use pesticides but do spray for blackspot.

Can you use petals that have been treated with fungicide?

I would not. It will depend on what you use and how long ago you sprayed, but you would probably be running a risk, and also possibly breaking the law depending on the particulars of the use (fwiw).

Can you use petals that have been treated with fungicide?

I wouldn't do that. I would really be concerned about ever eating anything from a plant that had been sprayed with something that was not approved for food crops. Without knowing the residual half-life in the plant, and a lot of other unknown variables, it just would not be the kind of risk I would take.

In effect, you would be consuming the chemical.
I'll pass.

Jeri

Rose perfume is my favorite scent, and I can't have enough of it. Still, I am inclined to think that if roses had been really palatable as a food, people would have been eating them for centuries. I have some rose petal tea, though I confess I almost never make it. Most of the near-eastern confections made with rosewater don't really do it for me, either. That said, candied rose-petals are ok, and certainly great for decoration, and tart rose hip tea is healthy and something anybody might like. It is funny, because rose scent is said to incorporate flavors like lemon, clove, orange, apricot, anise, you name it -- all delicious foods and flavorings in their own right. Maybe something is lost from the flower on the rose bush to the dried or picked product. But if you added lemon, orange, apricot or whatever to actual rose petals wouldn't the result be to overwhelm the delicate essence of the roses themselves? You might as well omit them and just call the result "rose inspired". But I'm not saying cooking with roses couldn't be done. Maybe it is a job for Heston Blumenthal.

The innermost white part of rose petals can be bitter and should be cut away.

Hip soup with icecream or minisized almond biscuits is a favourite after school snack for many Swedish children and comes either as dry powder or readymade in a carton. Hip soup (nyponsoppa)

I used to have a golden retriever who greatly savoured rose flowers... needless to say that particular pooch was incompatible with a serious rose growing hobby. Luckily at that time I was not seriously into roses.

I think ALL rose petals are "edible" (as long as not sprayed with ANYTHING, on purpose or accidentally), to answer your question. Of course, not all will taste the same, or be as good for various food uses. Lots of good ideas above.

Did you know that during WWII, when the UK was losing tens of thousands of tons of shipping (mostly food imports) daily to the German submarine blockade, they were running short on various types of food. Also, vitamin C, as they do not grow citrus. However, gardeners there DO (and DID) grow roses! So, the government asked people to collect the rose hips, got tons of them, and were able to process them into Vit C tablets. True story. Roses are useful!

Jackie

Our local Chinese market has sesame honey candy with candied rose petals. The box was very pretty and romantic like Valentine's day but it was in one of the big displays with the goodies for New Years. The candy was very tasty. I could not taste roses but it looked pretty. It was just a little salty too like sweet fiddle faddle popcorn only with sesame honey. I love Chinese New Years candy and cookies. We are getting more Chinese markets all the time. San Gabriel has some good ones and Irvine does too. Maybe I should have waited until the rooster year to try the candy but I will get another box since they were so good.

Yum! I somehow missed this revival post with all these recipes! Fabulous! I am totally making this sangria recipe and some of the others in the spring. I purposefully grow organic so I can eat/drink what I grow. I'm greedy like that. :)

Like others have said, cut off the part of the petal where it attaches if you want to remove the bitter taste. Centifolias are supposed to taste amazing.

I'm really glad the thread expanded to other uses besides petals. I wondered how to get the food value out of hips...now I know! Thanks!

I actually ate rose petals when I was just a kid. I was probably one of the healthiest kids on the block. I ate grass too. I think there was something lacking in my diet.

Now I know why roses have thorns

My dad’s friend‘s friend ate roses 🌹

I would like to try it, I just hope it doesn’t spike my neck!!!!🤣😂😅🤪😋😝😜🤓😳🙃🙂😉😁😄😃😀

Get the joke?