Ingredients
Scale
- copious amounts of very fragrant fresh picked roses ( damask roses are extremely fragrant )
- 18“x18” pieces of tulle ( or a needle + thread for the garland method )
- glass jars with tight sealing lids + rubber bands
Instructions
TULLE METHOD:
- make sure that the roses you use are fresh, organic and pesticide free
- start by pulling the rose petals off of the stems by grabbing the petals with one hand & pulling the stems away from the petals with your other hand
- once all of the petals have been removed from the stems, loosely pack them into a piece of tulle, gathering up the edges ( I used about 2 cups of petals per piece of tulle )
- Place the petal filled tulle inside a large glass jar, allowing the edges of the tulle to overlap the opening of the jar by at least 2 inches & use a rubber band to secure the tulle to the jar opening – ensure that there is at least 2 inches of space between the bottom of the petal filled tulle and the bottom of the glass jar.
- Secure the lid of the jar and leave in a place that will get the most direct sunlight possible ( we placed our jars on our rooftop ) otherwise, move them throughout the day so that they get as much sun as possible.
- After 2 days, all of the petals should have turned light brown and the jars should be filled with condensation and a puddle of rosewater at the bottom.
GARLAND METHOD:
- make sure that the roses you use are fresh, organic and pesticide free
- start by pulling the rose petals off of the stems by grabbing the petals with one hand & pulling the stems away from the petals with your other hand
- once all of the petals have been removed from the stems, use a needle and thread a top a soft pillow to pierce through the center of each petal, one by one, stringing them into a garland
- thread garlands long enough to fill the vase leaving at least 2 inches of space between the bottom of the garland and the bottom of the glass jar.
- Secure the ends of the garland with the lids of the glass jars, and leave in a place that will get the most direct sunlight possible ( we placed our jars on our rooftop ) otherwise, move them throughout the day so that they get as much sun as possible.
- After 2 days, all of the petals should have turned light brown and the jars should be filled with condensation and a puddle of rosewater at the bottom.
COLLECTING & STORING THE ROSEWATER:
- Gather your jars, remove the spent rose petals and gently swirl the jars to collect all of the condensation from the sides of the jars.
- Once all of the rosewater has settled to the bottom of the jars, pour the rosewater through a very fine mesh sieve or dampened cheesecloth into a spouted bowl or measuring cup ( this filters any impurities from the rosewater )
- Pour filtered rosewater into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator
- Sun-distilled rosewater stored in the refrigerator should last up to one year
- *Approximately 8 cups of loosely packed rose petals produced about 75ml (1/3 cup) of rosewater