Category: Arts

Recipe for Rosewater

(Created by Erin Penn)

Equipment

Sink	Stove	Non-reactive pot (ceramic, glass, etc)
Pruning shears	Big Bowl	Stirring spoon
Funnel	Strainer	Container (non-reactive or plastic you don’t care will be rosy for the rest of its life)

Ingredients

Roses (home grown if possible) – 2 bowls worth
Water

Process

1. In morning before the heat: Cut a full bowl of rose blossoms – at least five or six
2. Clean roses gently
3. Remove the petals and place them in a non-reactive pot
4. Cover with water
5. Put pot over low heat and allow cook for 20-30 minutes – do not cover, let the steam out
6. Stir on occasion to bruise the petals so they release more oil
7. The roses should look white and the water a little pinkish, and you should have room for more
8. Go out and cut another bowl of roses
9. Clean, pluck and add these petals to the pot
10. These will go white a lot sooner – just another 15 minutes
11. When done, pull off heat and let cool

ADDITIONAL COOKING NOTES:

• Do not boil the water – if it starts to simmer, it’s okay to remove the pot from the heat
• You are looking for drops of rose oil on the surface of the water – too much heat and the oil will evaporate

12. Get the final container, funnel, and a strainer to fit the funnel. Pour the cooled liquid into the container, straining out the petals
13. Squeeze the petals to get all the liquid
14. Use as needed for rosewater.

Comments

1. After a heavy (2-day) rain, I made rosewater in the spring from my rose bushes. All foliage on the bushes is new since spring.
2. I chopped the used rose petals and added them to a Ramen Noodle dish – worked very well. The petals are edible and can add fiber/substance to soups.
3. The scent levels are no where near the levels found in store-bought rose water – but the color was much better. The scent did a slow permeation with any dish it was used in. Not noticeable at first, but over time – yes.
4. I used the rosewater for a whipped cream dish and for pancakes.

Pictures

Roses grown in my yard. I’ve been working on them for two years now.

I’ve cut off two big bowl for the rosewater and still have tons left.

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RECIPE: LIBUM (An Offering)

Roman Recipe – Cato (180 BC), recipe 75
Libum hoc modo facito, Casei P. Il bene disterat in mortario. Ubi bene destriverit, farina siligneae liram, aut, si voles tenerius esse, semlibram semilaginis eodem indito, permiscetoque cum caseo bene. Ovum unum addito et una permisceto bene. Inde panem facito, folia laurea subdito: in foco caldo sub testu coquito leniter.

Translation – Giacosa p. 169
Make a libum thus: Thoroughly grind 2 librae of cheese in a mortor. When it is well ground, add 1 libra of fine flour or, if you want [the loaf to be] softer still, ½ libra of finest flour; mix well with the cheese. Add 1 egg and mix well. Then form a loaf, placing bay leaves beneath. Cook slowly under a testo on a hot hearth.

Cookbook Interpretation can be found on Giacosa pp. 169-170

My Interpretation: For 16 people at a Feast
Equipment

Oven	Mixing Bowl	Mixing fork
Baking Sheet	Measuring cup (dry)

Ingredients

2 cups of Ricotta (15 ounces, since that is an easy purchase)	2 cups of Flour	2-3 bay leaves (fresh or dry, dry worked fine for me)
	1 Egg

Process

1. Mix together cheese and flour.
2. Add egg and mix well.
3. Form into one, two, four, or eight small loafs.
4. Place bay leaves on baking sheet and loafs on top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 Comments

1. Next time I need to attempt without the self-rising flour. Forgot that was all I had in the house. (grumpy stomp)
2. The flavor is light and fluffy with just the hint of bay leaves. Very nice.
3. Broke easily into four separate small loaves. They crumble easily. Serving two of the four per table at a feast would work well.

 Bibliography
Giacosa, Ilaria Gozzini, Translated by Anna Herklotz. A Taste of Ancient Rome. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago and London. 1992.