What better gift can one receive on Valentines Day than twelve red roses? Their renowned beauty and heavenly perfume have cultivated the hearts of aspiring lovers since Eros courted Aphrodite. However, roses just don't conjure romance. They also impart a unique flavour and fragrance to the cuisines of the Middle East and Asia and are the raw materials for key ingredients such as rosewater.
The most fragrant roses in the world are said to come from Qasmar, in central Iran. Since ancient times farmers from this region have collected the nectar rich blossoms each spring and distilled rosewater using traditional techniques.
Rosewater is called Gool Ab' in Persian and is the aromatic water that remains after the production of essential rose oil. The process of making rosewater is labour intensive and is beautifully described by the Iranian author Najmieh Batmanglij in her book New Food of Life—Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies.
Each morning before sunrise, farmers gather to harvest the mostly red blossoms when their aroma and quantity of rose oil is at its peak. The flowers are placed in big sacks and taken to a factory where they are spread out and sorted. The best quality petals are then placed with some water in a large iron pot and heated to form steam, which rises up into a bamboo pipe and into another pot set in cold running water. As the water vapour cools, it condenses and becomes liquid rosewater, which is then bottled.
Today, Iran prides itself on producing the highest quality rosewater with reported annual exports of 40,000 tonnes worldwide.
Rosewater has a variety of medicinal and culinary uses, especially in the making of sweets and drinks. A sip of rosewater can aid digestion and calm the nervous system. In Iran, it is added to tea and is used to make all kinds of ice-creams, biscuits, puddings and syrups and makes a wonderful summer drink when blended with watermelon, yoghurt and ice with a garnish of fresh mint. Rosewater also gives the sticky Indian sweet gulab jamum its unique taste.
Incurable romantics on days such as today can also mix rosewater with saffron and use the coloured ink to write a perfumed letter of love.
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