Cooking with Romantic Roses, A Valentine Treat

I found this archived article written by me quite some time ago for Aromatic Sage Magazine. Happy Valentine's Day!

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In the Kitchen with Chris Ziegler
Cooking with Romantic Roses, A Valentine Treat

Welcome to AFS and the monthly column dedicated to the enjoyment of oils and aromatherapy in the kitchen.

Being that Valentine's Day is right around the corner it seems only appropriate to start of the first issue with the Romantic Rose.

The Rose has always been a flower associated with love. The intoxicating scent of roses (and rose oil) has worked its magic on men and women for thousands of years and still continues to do so today.

Roses were so popular during Roman times, that Horace wrote he was concerned that the farmers would dedicate too much time to their rose cultivation and neglect their olive groves.

The Romans used the petals in cooking, especially desserts such as puddings and sherbets. They even used roses to flavor wines.

The cultures influenced by the Romans also took up art of cooking with roses. To this day, tasty rose flavored treats abound in countries such as Turkey, and the ingredient "rosewater" is an essential part of some Middle Eastern dishes.

According to lore, a small number of wandering tribes of mystics in India were said to sustain themselves solely on roses, refusing all other foods except the "Queen of Flowers".

Roses from the garden can be used to create lovely dishes such as rose petal jam and jelly, rose petal omelets, candied rose petals, and more.

If you grow the old fashioned varieties you get an additional treat of rose hips at the end of the season to make goodies such as rose hip jelly and rose hip syrup.

When cooking with rose petals, NEVER use commercial roses that have been sprayed with pesticides.

When using rosewater for cooking be sure you are getting genuine, un- adulterated rose hydrosol from the stills, not rose-flavored distilled water.

Lastly, when cooking with rose oil be sure to use only unadulterated Rose Otto oil, which is hydro-steam distilled, do NOT use Rose Absolute, which is solvent extracted.

Recipes:
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Turkish Princess Rose Cake
Pre-heat oven to 375°F.

Into a mixing bowl, combine:
1½ cups cake flour,
2 tsp. baking powder,
2 Tbsp. finely ground almonds
½ cup Rose Otto Sugar (recipe follows)
2 Tbs. Rose Syrup (recipe follows)
¾ cup + 1 Tbsp. milk,
5 Tbs. Unsalted butter,
1 egg,
1½ tsp. vanilla extract,
Pinch of salt.
Another 2 Tbsp. Rose Syrup

Blend all ingredients, except additional 2 Tbsp rose syrup. Mix about 4 minutes at medium speed with electric mixer. Turn into 2 - 8" lightly buttered and floured round cake pans. Bake in oven (375°F) until a toothpick, when inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean - about 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool ten minutes before removing from the pan.

Remove from pans, place cakes on a rack, and let completely cool. Spread 2 Tbsp. Rose Syrup on top of the bottom cake layer. Then frost with Rose-Almond Frosting (recipe follows).
Place top cake layer atop frosted lower layer.
Complete frosting top and sides of the cake.
Garnish with fresh and candied rose petals (optional).

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Rose-Almond Frosting

8 Tbs. Unsalted Butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. Rose Syrup
1 Tbsp. finely ground almonds
4½ cups (1 box) powdered sugar
Rose hydrosol (have a few tablespoons handy)

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and vanilla extract, until the butter is softened. Add 2 Tbsp. Rose Syrup and continue to beat until mixture is fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar, blending on a slow speed at first to combine ingredients. Add Rose hydrosol, a tablespoon at a time, until frosting reaches proper consistency.
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Rose Otto Sugar

1-2 cups sugar
2 drops of Rose Otto
Blend well in a food processor.
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Rose Syrup (Easy)

4 heaping Tbsp. Rose Petal Jam
2 Tbsp. Water
Combine jam and water in a small pan. Warm slightly over low heat while stirring.
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Asure (Turkish Wheat Pudding)
This is one of the oldest and most traditional deserts in Turkish cuisine. Legend says "When the Flood finally subsided and Noah's Arc
settled on Mount Ararat in Agri, those on the vessel wanted to hold a celebration as an expression of the gratitude they felt towards God, but alas, the food storages of the ship were practically empty.

So they made a soup with all the remaining ingredients they could find and thus ended up with 'Asure'.

Following that legend, today Asure is prepared by cooking together at least fifteen ingredients which vary slightly by region.

For example, in the Çorum region, known as "Pekmezli Hedik" molasses is used and replaces sugar. In Gaziantep anise is added to that version.

Servings: 10 Ingredients:

Dövme (dehusked wheat for Asure) 1 cup (180 grams ) Chickpeas 1/3 cup (60 grams)
Dry white beans 1/3 cup (60 grams)
Rice 2 tablespoons (15 grams)
Water 12 ½ cups (2.5 kg)
Dried apricots 10 (60 grams)
Dried figs 5 (125 grams)
Raisins (seedless) ½ cup (50 grams)
Orange 1 small size 1(20 grams)
Sugar 1 2/3 cups (300 grams)
Rose water 2-4Tbsp (20-40 grams)
Walnuts (not crushed) 2/3 cup (65 grams)
Pomegranate ½ small size (50 grams)

Preparation :
Rinse the wheat, chickpeas and dried beans.
Soak beans and chickpeas, separately, each in 1 cup of water, overnight.

Soak the Dövme and rice together in 2 cups of water, overnight.

Add 3 cups of water to the Dövme and 2 cups of water each to chick peas and beans and place them individually on the burner.

Cook the Dövme until the grains are dissolved and the starch comes out. If necessary boil the
chickpeas in a pressure cooker. Rinse dried fruit and soak them for 2 hours in 1 ½ cups of water.

Mix the cooked ingredients and the dry fruit in a pan and cook for 15 minutes. Peel the orange and cut the rind, including the white inner part into 3-4 cm long and 1 cm wide strips. Divide the orange slices into 4-5 pieces. Add them to the mixture altogether and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat.

Add the rosewater and stir. Pour into dessert cups. Garnish with walnuts and pomegranate seeds.
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For more information of the history and production of rose oil and rose hydrosol, visit
"Rosa Damascena - Anatolian Rose Production" by Butch Owen
http://www.av-at.com/distillation/ rosadamascena1.html

Step by step instructions on how to make rose petal jam
http://www.av-at.com/stuff/rosejam.html

Chris has been both cooking and working with Essential Oils now for over 14 yrs. She has completed Certificate Training courses in Herbology and Clinical Aromatherapy. She is the owner of A Little Ol'Factory http://www.alittleolfactory.com , a small company based in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she makes soap and other all natural toiletries.

Rose Hydrosol - TCM and more

I was recently enjoying time with a colleague of mine who is a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner as well as dabbler in general herbs, aromatherapy, and cooking. Eventually the topic of rose and rose hydrosol came up between us and it became a fabulous exchange of ideas, recipes and experiences.

* Add about 1-2 tablespoons (or to taste) of rose hydrosol to a half quart of water (or sparkling water). This makes for a hydrating calorie free spritzer with a twist that also is a gentle liver/spleen/stomach tonic!

* Put that same twisted rose hydrosol in a fine mist spray bottle and have a refreshing moisturizer that combats summer heat, winter cold and generally drying climate control systems.

* Add a tablespoon (or to taste) of rose hydrosol to a batch of sugar cookie dough or vanilla cupcake frosting for an international style gourmet treat the kids will love!

* As a feminine rinse for arousal add 1 -2 tablespoons of rose hydrosol to a cup of lukewarm water and cleanse.

Well ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's aromatically arousing discussion. Hopefully you will join the ALOF Blog again! :)

CLICK HERE to buy rare and precious Certified Organic White Rose Hydrosol today!

Calaveras de rosa

'Tis the season, which means that I'm getting ready to make calaveras in several mediums. This year I am going to try my hand at making the actual sugar skull candies. There are two wonderful articles on the web that I'd like to give instructional and inspirational kudos to.

First is The Mexican Sugar Skull Site
This is a great step by step instructional page, with images! Oh, and I absolutely LOVE the gal's hairstyle! :)

Next, I want to give kudos to Elise Fleming on her wonderfully researched and informative article, including THE recipe I'm gonna use, for making traditional Sugar Paste. Thank you Elise for your fabulous piece of work! I'm only going to give a teaser of the ingredients here .. you have to read her full article to get all the details on the history of the sugar paste and how to make it properly.

SUGAR PASTE: A Cook's "Play Dough" by Elise Fleming
Approximations
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
1-3 tablespoons rosewater
1/2 lightly beaten egg white
1/2 or 1 teaspoon gum tragacanth
up to a pound or so of powdered sugar (3 1/2 to 4 cups equals approximately one pound)

White Rose Saffron & Pistachio Ice Cream

Saffron White Rose & Pistachio Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 C Whole Milk
2 1/2 C Heavy Cream
8 Egg Yolks
2 C Sugar
1 1/2 C Unsalted Pistachio Nuts, chopped
3-4 Tbsp Alba Rose Hydrosol
2 split and scraped Vanilla Beans
1/2 teaspoon Saffron Threads, freshly ground
1 Pinch Salt



Directions

1. In a medium thick-bottomed saucepan, on low heat, while stirring, heat milk and vanilla beans (all parts). Bring to a boil. Set aside 2 Tbsp of the hot milk and add the saffron. Reduce heat on saucepan and continue to simmer very low while stirring occasionally, adding the saffron infused milk when it is a deep yellow hue.

2. While mixture is slowly simmering beat the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth and foamy. Very carefully and slowly, while rapidly stirring with a whisk, add the the milk mixture a few tablespoons at a time at first to the egg mixture (this is called tempering). Continue stirring rapidly while tempering the egg or you will end up with undesirable scrambled egg ice cream.

3. After the 2 mixtures are combined continue heating the mixture on low heat while stirring constantly until thickened. When ready it will be slightly foamy and thoroughly coat the spoon when removed from the custard mixture.

4. Strain the custard mixture into a shallow container and blast chill in the freezer to rapidly, then refrigerate until well chilled.

5. Once the custard is very cold, stir in the cream, alba rose water and chopped pistachios.

6. Pour the custard mixture into an ice cream maker and follow churning directions to finish (or freeze and vigorously stirring every 20 minutes to break up the ice crystals until a smooth texture forms and the mixture is thoroughly frozen).

Snow Rose Iced Sugar Cookies

Snow Rose Cookie Icing:

2 C. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. alba white rose hydrosol

Stirring slowly blend the liquid ingredients into the sugar until you reach the desired consistency. Adjust by adding more liquid to make a thinner icing for piping and reduce amount of liquid to make a thicker icing for spreading.

I highly suggest Alton Brown's recipe for a wonderful sugar cookie made just for icing.

Limited offer - Enjoy free domestic shipping on alba rose hydrosol. Click here to view web site for details.

Organic Alba Rose Hydrosol

Rosa damascena var. Alba is a descendant of the ancient apothecary rose, Rosa gallica. Used for centuries for skin care, it is lovely just sprayed on the face and body after a shower, or sniffed to be enjoyed anytime to refresh and lighten your spirit. It blends beautifuly into lotions and creams during the "water phase". Mix with some clay for a facial mask, and spritz some hydrosol on after you remove the mask because it's a wonderful toner for your skin, balancing the sebum production.

I love to spray it on my face and pillows before bedtime because it is so soothing and relaxing. I also put a teaspoon in some water for a delicate rose-scented drink. You may add it to coffee or tea, also. Cooking with rosewater is common in the Middle East, and delicious sweets incorporate this natural hydrosol. I just mix some in vanilla cake icing for the lovely flavor it imparts, or sprinkle some over cut orange or melon slices. Yum!

In perfumery, it can be used in place of water when you are creating Eaux de parfums, Eaux de toilettes or colognes. It's a thrifty way to add some rose scent to the fragrance. Some who wish to avoid alcohol use it as a "water perfume" either by itself, or in a blend with neroli, frankincense or other hydrosols. It can be sprayed on the skin or clothing. It will last longer on clothing, up to a few hours.

Organic Rose Alba Hydrosol - 白玫瑰水 - Intense, spicy, vibrant yet with an innocent and pure fragrance like no other rose - this hydrosol is an indulgence and a necessity if you like pure and natural fragrance materials. Strong enough to be used as a raw material in perfumery, this certified Bulgarian hydrosol provides a true rose scent often found to be elusive in perfume. Limited quantity, fresh from the 2008 distillation.

Click here to place your order.

Saliva and aromatic chemicals

I remember in elementary school learning about Helen Keller. Someone posed the question to the class "which one of your senses would you give up if you had to?". Unlike everyone else, my answer was NOT taste or smell, and I suppose it is not coincidental that in my adult life I use my nose professionally and I almost chose a career as a chef.

This morning I was reading about how bacteria in saliva can turn odourless sulphur-containing compounds from fruit and vegetables into aromatic chemicals called thiols and how they plan on using this bacterial action to flavor foods.

See the NewScientist article: For tastier food, just add bacteria

Have a gastronomical weekend!

Rose Petal Jam

When I first introduced my husband to rose petal jam while we were dating, he was quite skeptical about trying it. Now he can't live without a jar of it in the house at all times. My sons are just as adoring of it. It has become a staple on our breakfast table, just as it is in the Mediterranean region.

It tastes and smells like Rose Otto, as it is made from petals gathered in the same fields of damascena roses that give us that lovely and precious essential oil of rose and the perfumery oil called Rose Absolute.

Served spread on pancakes, toast, waffles or muffins, rose petal jam is absolutely delicious! It can also be used in making syrup, cookies, cakes, pastries, bakery goods, candies and even savory marinades and sauces. You are limited only by your own epicurean imagination.

We carry varieties from both Turkey and Bulgaria, just like our rose oils and rose hydrosols. They are each an equally luscious treat.

Click here to order