Women’s Day is a holiday when women of all ages are spoiled with attention, love, and flowers, lots of flowers. Even though spring blooms are quite popular this time of the year, the timeless beauty of roses, the queen of all flowers, still remains the number one choice for a Women’s Day gift to Russia. This is not only because of how they look and smell, but also the special mood they create. While red roses traditionally symbolize romantic love and passion, white roses stand for purity and humility. A pink rose is a sign of innocence and undying love and a yellow rose does not have any romantic connotations and means friendship and joy.
Roses bring us lots of joy and an element of classic beauty to any space. Watching them fade and wilt is sad, and throwing them out even more depressing. But you don’t have to throw them out, since there are a number of simple and exciting ways to preserve and reuse your roses in ways you never thought are possible. See it for yourself!
ROSE OIL
There is more to roses than their beauty, as rose petals can also be used to make rose oil, which offers several benefits including a very calming effect on the mind. It can be used as a face moisturizer, massage oil, hair oil for strengthening roots, and so much more.
What to do:
- Fill a jar ¾ full with dried rose petals and buds.
- Fill the jar to the top with oil of your choice (extra virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil would work best). Cap and shake.
- Allow the jar to sit in a cool, dark place, shaking daily for 1 month.
- Strain the oil into a clean jar or bottle.
- You can add rose essential oil if you want a stronger scent or make a double or triple infusion, where you would use the filtered oil as the base for a fresh batch of rose petals.
ROSE WATER
Rose water is not only a beautifully fragrant mood enhancer but also an extremely versatile addition to your daily life and skincare routine. It has an extensive range of uses including homemade cosmetics (facial toner, hair perfume, shampoo or hair rinse, facial scrubs and masks), as an astringent for normal to dry skin, cooling mist, linen freshener, and even as a flavor enhancer used for herbal teas, yogurt and lemonade.
There are several different ways to make Rose water, but let’s keep things simple and start with the easiest and the least time consuming among them.
What you need:
1 quart size glass jar with wide-mouth
1 cup (roughly) Rose petals (fresh or dried)
1/3 cup Witch hazel
2/3 cup Distilled water
What to do:
- Fill a jar with about 1 cup of rose petals.
- Mix water and witch hazel and pour over the rose petals. Be sure the flowers are covered by an extra 2 inches of liquid.
- Cover with a lid and place in a warm area out of direct sunlight.
- Leave it for 2 weeks.
- Strain out the flowers and pour rose water into a clean jar or bottle.
- Keep refrigerated and use within 1-2 weeks.
Rose Petal Ice Cubes
Surprise your family and friends, and bring a special loving touch to the plainest homemade drinks by creating rose petal ice cubes. They will add some fun and color even to something as simple as a glass of water. And they are so easy to make too!
Just fill ice cube trays 3/4 full with water, then freeze. Place one rose petal on each cube, then pour one teaspoon of water over each petal. Freeze again. This step anchors the petals to the cube so they don’t float to the top but stay inside the ice. Quite easy, isn’t it?
Cooking With Roses
Did you know that rose petals are in the same plant family as strawberries and apples and are completely edible? While serving them to your kids for breakfast might be not the best idea, using them in some recipes is definitely the way to go!
A little trick before cooking rose petals is to clip off the white part at the bottom since it’s the only part of the petal that has a bit of a bitter taste (exactly like the whitish part of a not-fully-ripe strawberry). Also, make sure to use only fresh petals that do not look wilted or damaged. Following the simple route, we’ve picked out three unusual rose petal recipes that can be done as easy as 1-2-3. Oh, and just be sure the roses have not been sprayed with any type of insecticide or chemical!
Rose Scented Sugar
- Chop up ½ cup of fragrant rose petals in 2 cups of sugar in a covered tin.
- Place in a cool dark place for about a week.
- Sift the sugar through a sieve into a clean glass jar to remove the petals (it’s ok for some to remain) and enjoy with your tea.
Rose Butter
- Chop up rose petals and mix into softened butter.
- Pack into a small ceramic bowl and chill until ready to serve.
- Perfect with muffins and pancakes.
Rose Petal Jam
- Take equal amounts of fresh rose petals and superfine granulated sugar and alternate them in layers in a large glass jar with a lid.
- Cover the jar tightly and place in the sun for 10 days (until the color darkens).
- Enjoy spreading on a toast or with your cereal.
Now you don’t have to watch your beautiful roses fade away, but can breathe a new life into fresh blooms with a little bit of experimenting. Try one (or more!) of our recipes next time somebody gives you a bouquet of roses and make sure to share your experience with us!
