Roses

To my mind there are three types of rose in cooking: for the colour; the aroma and of course; the taste.

Depending on which of these I’m majoring on in a recipe I’ll use a different rose, or rose substitute.

So lets start with taste.

The best way to do this is to taste you own rose petals. Take a few from each rose you have (wild or cultivated), wash them and do a side by side taste test. Whats important is the taste and flavour of the petal – because a lot of the scent is from the centre of the flower, and when the petals are separate and stored the flavour is different to when you can smell the bloom.

A rule of thumb I read, and agree with after tasting, is that pink roses tend to taste the best. Darker roses from my garden tend to be a little more bitter, and the whites less flavoursome. Maybe its the pigments – but I don’t really know…

So pink roses – I harvest them at their peak or perhaps one day after and take the perfect petals as I dead-head. For these petals I blitz with a tiny bit of veg oil (one with no taste of its own like sunflower oil) then freeze as cubes. I’ll use the petals direct into couscous and as part of my rose harissa. Basically anything with spices and not desserts.

Next for aroma

This is where I cheat. For aroma I use Pelargonium ‘attar of roses’. It’s a geranium, tender, but thrives and survives in my unheated greenhouse. Takes cuttings well and also acts as a good companion plant (attracts pollinators and deters pests).

For Pelargoniums use the leaves – not the flowers. The flavour and aroma of rose is intense – it’s the taste of Turkish delight. And bluntly not the taste of Roses but the taste of the smell of Roses.

I use this in tea – makes a beautiful rose tea or addition to an infusion. In cakes and desserts this is king. You can crystallise the leaves to keep the best flavour for months, and I use a mix of pink Rose and Pelargoniums to make rose water.

Finally for colour

This is where you can play. My favourite for adding colour is ‘Hot Chocolate’ a beautiful rose, dark red – like claret mixed with dark, dark chocolate. I use the petals roughly chopped to mix though basmati rise (often alongside calendula petals and nasturtium), or in bread dough (Moroccan and focaccia). Sometimes a sprinkle though a muffin or finely chopped through a sponge (especially if I’ve flavoured it with Pelargonium).

So there you have it – Roses – I use them for cooking more than I cut them for the table, but mostly I just admire them in the garden.

So when you pick Roses for the garden think about all of their uses. Repeat flowing is awesome, I prefer singles or semi doubles, because I want bee-friendly, size colour, habit, and massively important is disease resistance.

Luckily there are many, many types to choose from, and one for every space, soil and situation. Underplanted with geranium or viola they are a source of delight for me all year round and, even with some frosts, I often have blooms right up until mid December.