ROSE LEMONADE

One of my favorite scents and flavours ever is rose and Cape Breton Island has wild rose bushes EVERYWHERE! It is important to note that you should browse many spots to leave plenty for the pollinators to do their jobs if you are foraging for a large amount of petals.

Simple Syrup

All delicious drinks of this nature start with a simple syrup. You can use fresh or dehydrated roses. When plants are dehydrated, their cell structures are easier to saturate with water, and as it cools, draw out flavours and nutritional value with a much greater ease. I find dehydrated petals provide a more potent flavour and a deeper coloured syrup.

You can make a great syrup with one cup of rose petals. If you have few petals and a quality food-grade rose water, you are all set.

I don’t use a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar with a syrup meant for lemonade. If you need it to be thick like syrup (for a glaze, for example), or you really like it sweet, follow the 1:1 ratio. I usually use 1 cup sugar and 2 cups water and rely mostly on the rose flavour and the citrus to make this drink refreshing.

Citrus

Add your water and rose petals to a pot, stir until sugar is dissolved and it comes to a boil. Turn burner down slightly and let it boil for 10 minutes. If using additional rose water, add it in at this point and boil for another 3-5 minutes. At this point I usually add a bit of citrus (a mix of lemon AND lime is great), and take it off the heat to cool. If you want a thicker syrup, boil for longer and keep an eye on how thick it is by watching how fast it drizzles off your spoon.

I don’t boil my syrups with the citrus in them so I do not to dull or destroy the fresh taste of the lemon or lime. Watch as the colour of your syrup intensifies even more once you add your citrus juices!

Add your syrup to a pitcher or jar and fill with water and more lemon and/or lime juice. Keep adjusting to taste. Refrigerate.

What about the petals?

Eat the petals! They look beautiful in the lemonade and are so easy to chew. Although you can strain out the petals for your lemonade. With leftover petals from a simple syrup, I have added them to banana bread dough, thrown them in yogurt and used them in mojitos! I often freeze them in a little sugary clump if I don’t have a use for them immediately.