The versatility of rose water is no secret. It is used for a variety of reasons and has many benefits. You can use rose water for your skin. You can also use it in various kinds of recipes. It is also popular for its fragrance and its flavor, and has calming properties.
For these reasons, it is a basic ingredient that you can easily find in India 2022 n households. However, you would also prefer to use pure and authentic rose water at a reasonable price, just like we do! If you are a rosewater fan, too, we have got ways for you to prepare your own pure and original rose water.
Not only will you save a few bucks, but make sure that the quality of your rose water is great. We have researched for you the most tried-out and popular methods of rose water preparation at home. Let’s take a look.
Different Methods of Making Rose Water At Home
There are few methods that you could adopt to make rose water at home. We have chosen the easiest, convenient, cheap, and trusted ones for you. We will take you through them one by one.\
1. Distilling Method
While this method can be a little hectic and time-consuming than the others, it is worth it. The result will be a pure and concentrated form of rose water. The shelf-life of this rose water will also be longer.
Ingredients:
Rose petals, bowl, a pot with a lid, distilled water, ice, a strainer, a bottle.
Procedure:
- Start by plucking out petals from a few roses and cleaning them properly. ( a medium-sized bowl )
- Take a large pot and place a smaller bowl in the center of it. You need to make sure the bowl is elevated enough to reach the top of the pot. You can use a brick or a stone below the bowl to raise it to the top.
- Place your rose petals in the larger pot (make sure to not put any in the smaller bowl), and then add distilled water to the petals. The water should be just enough to drench all the petals. (Again, the water should not get into the bowl).
- Place a lid on the pot in an inverted manner. This will ensure that the steam gets trapped and drips down in the form of water droplets in the bowl. Put the pot on the stove and let it boil at a medium flame.
- Put some ice over the inverted lid while it is still on the stove. This will assure accelerated condensation, causing the steam to drip in the bowl faster. You will have a pure form of rose water dripping in the bowl through the inward side of the lid.
- Lower the flame for around 20-30 minutes, and let the water simmer.
- Keep replacing the ice on the lid as the older ice starts melting.
- Once you have enough rosewater in the bowl, wait for the mix to cool down. Strain and store it in a clean bottle for easy use. You can also refrigerate it.
2. Boiling Method
This is a basic, time-saving and easy method for the in-home preparation of rose water. All you need to grab is a few ingredients readily available at home.
Ingredients:
Rose petals, Distilled water, Bottle, Strainer
Procedure:
- Collect rose petals from 2-3 roses. Wash the petals with clean water till they are free of dirt.
- Put the rose petals in a container adding water to it. Around 1 ½ cups of water should be enough. Using more than that might dilute your rosewater.
- Boil the water with petals in it, and keep the flame at a low setting. Leave it like that for around 20 minutes.
- Once the petals start losing their color, turn the stove off and wait for the rose water to cool down.
- Using a strainer, separate the petals from your newly prepared rose water.
- You can store your rose water in a clean spray bottle or any other bottle of your choice, and Tadaa! There you have your very own bottle of homemade rose water.
3. Crushing Method
It is a suitable method to prepare a large quantity of rose water.
Ingredients:
Rose petals, distilled water, mortar and pestle, strainer, a large bowl, bottle.
Procedure:
- Gather around 1 cup of freshly plucked rose petals (about 2-3 flowers), and wash them properly.
- The next step is to divide the petals into two piles. The additional pile will eventually be used to add color to the extract.
- Put the petals from the first pile in a mortar and pestle and crush them. This will extract the oil out of the rose petals.
- Shift the extracted juice along with the petal remains into a clean bowl. Leave it like that for 2 – 3 hours till you have a thick fluid.
- Now grab the other pile of petals and add it to the fluid. Keep the mix like that for about 24 hours, at room temperature.
- Pour this liquid into a ceramic pan. (Avoid using a metal pot since it may discolor your rosewater.) Place the pan on a stove on low flame. Wait for the rosewater to simmer.
- Remove the pan from the stove, and using a strainer, pour it into a clean container.
- Expose the sealed container to the sun for some 2 – 3 hours so that the sunlight draws out the natural oils.
Tip: It is always better to use freshly plucked roses in the preparation of rosewater. Avoid using roses from bouquets since they might be sprayed with harmful insecticides.
For How Long Will My Rosewater Last?
Just like packed rose water has an expiry date, homemade rose water will also last for a limited time only. The shelf-life of homemade rose water also depends on its method of preparation. If you prepare your rose water using the simmering method, it can last up to two weeks at most if stored properly.
In case your rose water was made using the distillation method, it can last for a longer time period- i.e., up to 6 months.
We advise you to store your rose water in an air-tight bottle or container. Refrigerating the rosewater is also recommended to extend its shelf-life. Apart from that, you can use your sense of taste and smell to determine the quality of your rosewater.
Tip: For these procedures, it is better to use distilled water. But in case distilled water is not available, you may use filtered water. Distilled rose water also has a better shelf-life.
FAQs
How do I know if my rose water has gone bad?
If you notice a weird and unusual smell coming from the rose water, it might be a sign that it is going bad. You will also notice a change in its color. It might turn to a greenish or brownish shade. Other than that, a patch test is always recommended before using a product.
What are the benefits of using rose water?
Rosewater offers a number of benefits. It is widely used in skin-care products and is popular as a face toner. Rosewater can also be used in a number of recipes or different kinds of teas for its flavor.
Also Read:
How To Make Your Own Vitamin C Serum At Home?
Conclusion
Rosewater is widely used by people for various reasons. You must also have spent a lot of your money buying rose water from stores. The methods of rose water preparation discussed in this article are pocket-friendly and, at the same time, assure good quality and originality.
We are excited and cannot wait for you to try out these methods! Once you do, we would love to hear in the comments below how your rose water turned out and what method you chose.
After completing this graduation in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Manipal University in 2013, Ankit began rummaging the current Indian market of technology and science. At apolloedoc, Ankit’s job profile consists of cumulating, researching, testing, and verifying products related to tech.
He has a knack for details and catches even the tiniest advantages and flaws that can make or break the product. Since last year, he has been writing for apolloedoc and has been our knight in shining armour when reviewing home appliances.
Ankit’s favourite pastimes consist of jamming onto his guitar with a couple of friends and constantly updating and learning new things! He is also a big-time pet lover and has a cute little pug named Oreo back in Chandigarh. He has bagged many achievements in his college by participating in multiple extracurricular activities.
Writing is something that comes to Ankit naturally. He has his own blog where he posts about coding languages and even provides coaching to students from 12th grade to 2nd year of college. At apolloedoc, Ankit beautifully showcases his knack for the written word by lucidly explaining information in an unbiased way.