How To Make Rose Water Using Fresh Flowers
How to Make Rose Water using fresh flowers is much simpler than you may think! All you need are flowers and distilled water. This recipe doesn’t get any easier and is a wonderful addition to your pantry
Table of Contents
How To Make Rose Water
This bright ruby red rose water is stunning! It may look like food coloring, but it isn’t! This is just the actual roses dying the water!
I’ve always wanted to learn how to make this for use in some of my favorite recipe recreations.
As I experiment more and more in the kitchen, I love adding new ingredients, and this was an ideal fit for my recreation of some popular Middle Eastern recipes.
Since I didn’t find it in local specialty stores, I knew I had to learn how to make rose water at home.
I wasn’t disappointed when I whipped up this batch of rose water. Not only was it one of the easiest DIY projects I have ever made, but the result was also even better than what I would have found in the store.
A great addition to my pantry!
Is Rose Water For Cooking?
Yes! Rosewater is ideal for adding to recipes, but it’s also something that adds a wonderful floral scent.
While it is great for adding to rose water cocktails, and cakes like my Persian love cake recipe, and meringue cookies.
Rose water is also known to be used in skin and hair care products.
Making a batch of this is easy enough that you will start using it daily not just in recipes, but in skin face toner and hair care products as well as for other benefits.
It has gained more popularity in recent years due to some mainstream brands creating special sprays and products featuring rose as an ingredient.
How To Use Rose Water
Adding rose water to recipes only requires a teaspoon or two. Rose water acts similarly to extracts and in this case adds a simple floral flavor.
- Add to recipes for floral flavor and coloring
- Use as a facial toner
- Add to teas or lemonades for flavor and antiseptic properties
- Spray on cuts and wounds to help aid in healing
- Use for aiding in digestion
- As aromatherapy use to help relieve headache pain
As you can see, this isn’t just about adding a floral scent or flavor to a recipe.
Adding this to your pantry or refrigerator is ideal for cooking, skincare, and some relief of medical symptoms. While not a cure for anything, it’s a great addition to homeopathic tools in your arsenal.
How Long Does Rose Water Last?
When stored properly in an airtight container, can last up to 6 months when refrigerated.
If making larger batches, you can also can with a pressure canner to last longer periods of time.
How To Make Rose Water
There are several methods for making rose water, but I opted for a simple option using fresh flowers, and I am definitely happy with the result.
- Start with 2 cups distilled water and clean rose petals from 2 roses.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vodka as a preservative.
- Simmer ingredients until the color of the rose petals is pale. This takes around 30 minutes.
- Allow the rose water to cool, then bottle and refrigerate for future use.
If making homemade items is something of interest, make sure to check out my recipe for homemade stir fry sauce, homemade low carb barbecue sauce, red enchilada sauce, and my homemade vanilla extract.
How To Make Rose Water Using Fresh Flowers
Ingredients
- 2 cups distilled water
- 1 cup about 2 roses petals cleaned
- 1 teaspoon vodka optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan add distilled water and rose petals. Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer until petals are pale (25-30 minutes).
- Remove from heat and drain liquid though a cheesecloth into a clean container. Discard petals.
- Add vodka to prepared rose water (optional).
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
Dessert Recipes
Persian Love Cake Recipe
Meringue Cookies With Rose Water
PIN TO YOUR DO IT YOURSELF BOARDS
I had no idea making rosewater was so easy. I’ve been buying it from my health food store for a crazy price for way too long. Awesome!
Since alcohol evaporates druing boiling, I would suggest adding the vodka after straining the petals into the bottle. May help it last a bit longer.
Thank you, Laurel!
Hello, I love this recipe. I have been trying to figure out how to use my roses for Rose water. I definitely will be trying this in the summer when my roses start blooming.
It’s so easy and satisfying when you can get to preserve those roses in a different way!
We produce Natural Rose Water from Damascene Rose
Wonderful! I bet is is lovely. I love the beautiful scent!
This recipe looks amazing but since youre adding vodka im not sure thats good for skin.
Hi there! Actually, there is a lot of alcohol listed in the ingredients for toners and several other beauty products. Since you use so little I don’t think this will be harmful. It just preserves the rose water longer, but it’s definitely your choice. Thank you for stopping by.
Hi, what is the shelf life of this rose water? Do we need to add any preservatives?
Hi Lisa! You can add 1 teaspoon of vodka, the alcohol acts as a preservative. This will be good for several years.
I am so glad I found this post! It is exactly what I was looking for! Gorgeous blog!
Regularly I used rosewater in my daily skincare routine. This homemade rosewater toner is more effective for skin. So this article very useful and informative. Thank you for this amazing article.
Thanks to the recipe. I tried it and it came out perfect.
We are having a bit of a heatwave in the UK this Summer and I am emptying a spray bottle to fill with rosewater for my face, neck and wrists – to keep me feeling fresh through the day. I have distilled my own water to follow the recipe but you could also put the petals in the water and distil everything at once. Not sure when to add the vodka though?
Hello! The vodka is just a preservative, so I add it at the end when ready to bottle. I’ll clarify in the post. Thank you for trying making this homemade rose water. Stay nice and cool! Sandra
Your recipe says to add the vodka to the distilled water and rose petals and then boil for 30 minutes. I was thinking this was incorrect, because boiling the vodka would make the alcohol evaporate and then it would no longer act as a preservative. It’s been over a year and not corrected. I imagine a lot of people are making it incorrectly.
Thank you. It won’t ruin it, but you are correct if we want to preserve, it needs to be added at the end.
this looks wonderful. and as a note to the above poster, all varieties of roses are edible.
Thanks, Sarah!
Thank you for the recipe. Every year a festival comes & it’s the first stop to get rosewater. So delicious like roses in your mouth. Found at health food store but without the color was a disappointment. Will try your recipe.
Oh, I would be disappointed too if I bought rose water and there wasn’t a pretty hue to it. You’ll love making this on your own!
Only use the petals from edible roses! Other rose petals can be toxic!
So when I made rose water I always did it with regular drinking water and seems to help but does the type of water make a difference with it the outcome. Also I never rinsed my rose pedals before putting them in water to boil because I thought the heat of the water will kill anything thing bad . Am I wrong for that?
Hello Byanka! You will get the same results with drinking water (out of the facet). Distilled is preferred because there may be bacteria in tap water that isn’t good for florals. You could boil the tap water before using it. I rise the flower petals like I do my vegetables. The water will rinse off any pollen or light residue. You need to boil the water to kill bacteria. Hope this helps.
Oh THANK YOU for this recipe. I have many recipes n things that call for rose water, which I have had a hard time finding. Now I can make my own!!
I do something wrong! the liquid turn into something like blue 😮
Do you have any idea what could i miss?
Hmmm, what color were your rose petals to begin with? The color comes directly from the petals, so the only thing I can think of is maybe the roses were spayed with something.
if I made this and put it in a spray bottle wouldn’t help with my psoriasis?
I met would it help with psoriasis
Hi Barbara. I know rose water is good for maintaining the ph level of skin, but I’m not sure how helpful it will be for you. I think it would be worth a try!
Do you have to use pink/red flowers? Hubby just bought me some yellow roses!
Try it! Any color of roses will work 🙂
I found this just in time to use up my rose from valentines! Thank you! 🙂
Fabulous! Love when that happens 🙂
So cool! I’ve never thought about doing this!
Can I use tap water instead of distilled?
Tap water often has bacteria in it. If you can’t find distilled water, you can boil filtered water and let it cool back down to room temperature.
This is so cool! I am going to have to try this!
Rosewater is fun to make! Give this a try.
How long of a shelf life do you estimate this has?
Hi Jennifer! Freshly made this should be stored in the refrigerator and used within a week. If you add the vodka it will last longer, but I’m not sure how much longer. Still in testing 😉
Between 6 months to a year with the vodka or another natural preservative like organic Rosemary essence. Rosemary has natural preservative properties. Since this is a Water based DIY product and not oil based (like body butter or soap) I find these are the two easiest and best preservatives that won’t change what you are trying to accomplish as far as scent and color. I have actually been growing roses for over 20 years and use mostly Pink varieties for my Homemade Rosewater. It sells like Mad at the Farmers Markets in my area! 🙂
Thank you for this! I will try the rosemary. That’s a great tip!
I’ve never heard of rose water either, but I totally get when you go to make a recipe and are missing something, and going to WkikiHow for ideas on how to do it yourself! I have done that countless times too lol. LOVE the color of your rose water. I bet the smell is amazing.
It really is lovely smelling. Light and fresh. The internet is an amazing tool 🙂
I have seen many recipes which call for rosewater and avoid them as I can’t be bothered to make or buy it so thank you for your lovely recipe!!!
Now that you know how simple it is to make, go ahead and dig into those recipes!
I’ve always wanted to make some homemade personal care items. Rose water seems to be a great starting point!
I just mixed some with some lavender oil for a room spray. It smells wonderful!
I am surprised by all of the ways to use rose water. I like the idea of using it for a lotion. It seems really easy to make!
I agree and so nice to know that you aren’t adding any chemicals to or in your body!
I’ve never really known what to do with rose water!
Oh stay tuned. I share some fun ways to use it up!
I’ve never even heard of rose water. Well, maybe I have heard of it but never really for any recipe. You are a brave one to figure it out yourself. Great job!
Brave or stubborn! lol When I want something. I really, really want it and must find a way 😉
I need to use rosewater more
Have you made it before? This is the first time for me.
This is so interesting! I’ve never thought of this as an ingredient, is it more for sweet or savoury dishes? It is perfect for Valentine though 🙂
You can use it for both sweet and savory. It’s so unique and common for Indian and Middle Eastern foods.