Rose Water

Rose perfumes are made from rose oil, also called attar of roses, which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained by steam-distilling the crushed petals of roses, a process first developed in Persia and Bulgaria. Rose water is a by-product of this process. Rose water has a very distinctive flavour and is used heavily in South Asian, West Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine—especially in sweets. For example, rose water gives gulab jamuns and some types of lokum (Turkish delight) their distinctive flavours.

In Iran it is also added to tea, ice cream, cookies and other sweets in small quantities, and in the Arab world and India it is used to flavour milk and dairy-based dishes such as rice pudding. It is also a key ingredient in sweet lassi, a drink made from yogurt, sugar and various fruit juices, and is also used to make jallab. In Malaysia and Singapore, rose water is mixed with milk, sugar and pink food colouring to make a sweet drink called bandung. Rose water is frequently used as replacement for red wine and other alcohols in cooking by Muslim chefs.

In Western Europe, rose water (as well as orange flower water) is sometimes used to flavour both marzipan and a petite scallop-shaped French sponge cake, sometimes called a cookie, known as a madeleine. Rose water was also used to make Waverly Jumbles, a type of cookie much favoured by the American President James Monroe. American and European bakers enjoyed the floral flavouring of rose water in their baking until the 19th century when vanilla flavouring became popular. The French are known for their rose syrup, most commonly made from an extract of rose petals. In the United States, this French rose syrup is used to make rose scones.

A rose water ointment is occasionally used as an emollient, and rose water is sometimes used in cosmetics such as cold creams. Zamzam water, used to clean the Kaaba, a holy shrine of Islam located in Mecca, includes rose water as a component. Rose water is used in some Hindu rituals as well. Rose water was first produced by Muslim chemists in the medieval Islamic world through the distillation of roses, for use in the drinking and perfumery industries.