It's summer on my side of the world. Among the things that I really look forward to this time of year are all the roses coming into bloom! I stroll the garden cutting vases full of them, and arrange them indoors to have something special for the senses. The smell, the look, roses are just... wow! They really brighten up my mood, which is no exaggeration, as there is data to indicate that there are compounds in roses that can relieve stress.
https://www.organicfacts.net/health...ls/health-benefits-of-rose-essential-oil.html
Oil from roses not only makes one of the best perfumes ever, but it is antibacterial, and is used to reduce inflammation, infection, skin blemishes, detox the blood of impurities, help minor wounds heal, soothe pain, relieve muscle spasms and treat some skin diseases.
Because of the health benefits I use roses from my garden to make fresh rose water, it's a wonderful beauty product from our natural world. The petals have iron and potassium in them and high cincentrations of vitamins A, B, E C and K. This antioxidant-rich goodness is so good for the skin. It gives your face that warm, "rosy" glow, and makes the skin soft and clear. I really look forward to washing my face with home made rose water as the days get hotter. It's so refreshing, and cooling. I also love rinsing my hair with it, feels so soft and clean.
This stuff is also super easy to make, and I thought I'd recommend it to the Nature Club if you have access to roses. All you need are roses, water and a stove. They must be natural roses though, and free of pesticides or chemicals because you don't want something that would be harmful to your body, so avoid store bought roses, unless they are organic.
I gather freshly fallen petals from roses growing in my backyard, and store them in a container or bowl. Sometimes I also take the petals off of roses that I cut and displayed once they are a couple of day old and it's about time to change the arrangement. I personally like to use roses that have not quite withered or browned, and still have moisture in them, but I hear that dried rose petals work fine too.
I actually made a batch of rose water last week after deadheading the bushes.
The petals I used were mostly from the big white climbing roses over the arbor, called White Dawn, and these dark pink ones around the garden gate-- my mom says they are Laguna roses. However, all roses work. That's just what I had the most of and put to use. I find it interesting to make rose water from different varieties of roses because the color and scent they give will subtly vary as well.
I rinse water over my roses petals in a bowl to make sure they are clean, free of any debris, and double check that no insect has travelled along in the flowers with you that needs to be returned to the outdoors.
I drain the water, and transfer the freshly washed petals over to a sauce pan. I crush and tear the rose petals to release the juices inside better, fill the pan with fresh/ distilled/ filtered water. How much water you need will depend on how many petals you put in, but as a general rule you want enough water to cover the petals.
Put a lid on the pan or cover it with a bowl/plate so that you're not let the vapors escape into the air, and getting all the compounds and moisture that you can.
Turn up the temperature of the stove so that the water boils, and then cooks on a low simmer. Once the color drains from the rose petals and water itself turns a rich dark color, you'll know it's ready, usually 30 minutes is plenty of time on my oven.
Turn off your stove, and let the rose water cool down, then once it's no longer hot and steaming filter out the wet petals. If you have a colander then that is ideal. Put a bowl or another pot underneath the colander, and pour all the contents of your sauce pan into the colander, which will catch the petals as the water itself flows freely into the bowl beneath it. I recommend doing this over the kitchen sink to avoid spillage.
If you don't have a colander you can separate the petals from the water in other ways like with a tea ball, a strainer, I know people use cheese cloth and sorts of things. I have even done it with just a fork or spoon, though it takes a little more time this way.
Then find a vessel for your strained rose water, and store in the refrigerator. The cold will preserve it for longer. Rose water can spoil in a couple of days at room temperature, especially where I live in the hot south, but properly sealed in a cool temperature it can last weeks or even months, especially if you add a preservative like witch hazel or vitamin E extract. I Iike adding sweet almond oil to my rose water, because it naturally contains a lot of vitamin E, and it's also a very good, gentle oil for the skin, also full of antioxidants, copper and I think pairs well with the rose water, and sweet almond oil (as well as jojoba) are often carrier oils for rose you can often find rose-blended essential oil with sweet almond on stores to add to the rose water, and give you even more of the rose's properties and enhance the sweet scent.
There are lots of objects you can store your rose water in like a glass jar or a spray bottle. I usually just go with a plastic container that can be frozen because I like having rose water saved in freezer in storage that I can use it in times where there roses.
If you keep a compost pile then consider contributing the strained petals back to the earth :)