What Is Rosewater and How Can I Use It?
Rosewater is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 33 recipes to get you started.
Where found
Rosewater is usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
| In Chinese: | 玫瑰香水 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | eau de rose | |
| en español: | agua de rosas |
Recipes using rosewater
There are 33 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Grandma's Turkish Delight
Silky rose-scented candy squares dusted in powdered sugar, made with cornstarch and cream of tartar. Customize with pistachios, almonds, or fruit flavors for an authentic Middle Eastern sweet.
Baklava (Low Fat Low Cal Version)
Try this scrumptious side dish made with pistachio nuts, cinnamon and rosewater syrup.
Almond Cookies #4
Mediterranean almond cookies made with ground almonds, egg whites, and candied cherries. Low-temperature baked treats dusted with powdered sugar and optional rosewater.
Moroccan Chicken with Pistachios, Apricots, Roses, & Marigolds
Moroccan chicken with pistachios, dried apricots, pine nuts, and cinnamon over rice, finished with rosewater and edible flower petals. An aromatic, jewel-toned one-dish dinner.
Decadent Whipped Cream & Biscotti
Crisp biscotti soaked in flavored simple syrup until soft, then topped with fresh whipped cream and fruit. A quick Italian-inspired dessert with endless variations.
Lassi (Yogurt Drink)
Sweet lassi with yogurt, crushed cardamom, rose water, and nutmeg. A traditional Indian yogurt drink blended smooth and served cold in minutes. Vegetarian.
Sweet Spinach Tart
Sweet spinach tart with wine-steamed spinach cooked in rosewater, sugar, and cinnamon, filled into a pie shell and topped with fresh sliced strawberries. A medieval-inspired dessert that's surprisingly beautiful.
Great Cake
Great cake is an old-fashioned colonial American pound cake loaded with currants, candied citron, and rosewater. A Martha Washington-era recipe that's dense, buttery, and built for special occasions.
Rose Geranium Cookies
Rose geranium cookies made with rosewater and chopped geranium leaves baked into a soft, floral butter cookie. A unique garden-to-cookie-sheet treat.
Sherbat (Lemon Drink Cooler)
Sherbat is a fragrant Indian lemon cooler with fresh lemon juice, sugar, crushed ice, and rose water. A refreshing, floral drink served in frosty glasses. Ready in 20 minutes with just 5 ingredients.
Baklawa 'Be'Aj'
Lebanese Baklawa Be'Aj features phyllo squares shaped into lily petals around an egg-white walnut and almond filling, soaked in rose water and orange blossom syrup. A showstopper pastry for special occasions.
Baklawa 'Be'Aj'
Lebanese Baklawa Be'Aj features phyllo squares shaped into lily petals around an egg-white walnut and almond filling, soaked in rose water and orange blossom syrup. A showstopper pastry for special occasions.
Spiced Meat Skillet (Timen Ajami)
Timen Ajami spiced meat skillet with ground beef or lamb, allspice, Madras curry powder, rosewater, dried currants, and chopped almonds. A fragrant Middle Eastern one-pan dish ready in 45 minutes.
Jumbles
Jumbles are a colonial-era ring-shaped cookie scented with rosewater, caraway, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Crisp, buttery, and dusted with sugar. A historical American recipe from the 1700s.
A Squid Dish for Days of Abstinence (circa 1475)
Yes from the year 1475. Platina mentions several odd fishes not usually used today as food, such as cuttlefish, scorpions, lampreys and sea-lion. But most of his fish are still favorites-eels, lobsters, crabs, oysters, sturgeon and sturgeon eggs (which he calls caviar), salmon, sole, etc., and he gives a recipe for a Squid Dish for Days of Abstinence. Although squid is eaten today in the South of France and Greece, and can be found in special fish shops here, I would prefer salmon or halibut. But if you hanker for squid, just go ahead with it if you can find some, and be sure to have the fish man prepare it for you by removing the black liquid from the backbone.
Fish Pie, Modern Version of Squid Dish
Medieval-style salmon fish pie with figs, grapes, almonds, rosewater, and warm spices, tucked under a double pastry crust. A modern take on a vintage squid recipe.
Golden Saffron Cake
Golden saffron cake with rose water and pistachios, soaked in vanilla sugar syrup and cut into diamonds like baklava. A fragrant Middle Eastern-inspired low-fat dessert.
Pineapple & Bananas with Coconut Syrup
Pineapple, banana and cantaloupe pooled in a coconut milk and brown rice syrup glaze, scented with rosewater. Light tropical fruit salad with a Southeast Asian twist.
Shereen Polo I (Almond, Carrot, Orange Pilau)
Shereen Polo is a Persian jeweled rice pilau with saffron, julienned carrots, orange peel, almonds, pistachios, and rose water in sugar syrup. Served with crispy tahdig and a side of chicken stew.
Marzipan (Candies)
Nothing expresses the German love of edible art more succintly than marzipan candies, which are shaped into piglets, cats, poodles, flowers, fruit and all sorts of other objects. They are delicious to eat, too.
Indian Lassi Panna Cotta
Indian lassi panna cotta: silky Italian-style set cream infused with cardamom and rose water, topped with crushed pistachios and toasted coconut. A cross-cultural make-ahead dessert.
Rose Almond Jumbles
Rose almond jumbles flavored with rosewater, packed with finely chopped blanched almonds, and dropped in ring shapes. A fragrant, old-fashioned cookie from the Victorian era.
Amigdalota (Almond Macaroons)
Chewy Greek almond macaroons made with ground almonds, egg whites, and fragrant rosewater create gluten-free cookies dusted with powdered sugar.
