Rose Petal Syrup

For some reason rose petal syrup seems to have gone out of fashion – but there is nothing like it to enhance the flavour of strawberries.  It makes them taste like you remember them from your childhood –  luscious, sweet and mouth-wateringly.  I can’t begin to tell you the difference it makes.  The syrup itself smells of the best of summer and brings out the sun in everything you put it on.   Fold a couple of tablespoons into softly whipped cream to transform a Victoria Sponge or meringues.   Pour over vanilla Ice-cream to lift it to a whole other level.

It’s best to pick the roses when they are blowsy and maybe only a day away from starting to drop their petals.  The colour of the rose you choose will effect the colour of the syrup just as the intensity of the roses fragrance will effect the taste of it.   I mostly use the pink roses from my rugosa hedge with 2-3 dark scented red roses thrown in to deepen the colour.  120g is about two colanders worth of petals   Totally worth it though!

Ingredients

• 125g fresh, fragrant red or pink rose petals (about 2 colanders)
• 700g granulated sugar
• juice of a small lemon
• 300g water

Method

1. Pick over the petals removing the “white heel” at the bottom and put them in a bowl with 200g of sugar.
2. Use your gingers to gently massage in the sugar until the petals are lightly bruised and depleted in size by at least half.  Cover and leave overnight so that the rose perfume infuses into the sugar.
3. In a saucepan add the remaining 500g sugar, 300g water and lemon juice.  Heat until sugar is dissolved
4. Add the rose petals and any juices to the pan and stir in.
5. Continue simmering for another 30-40 minutes until mixture is syrupy and smells of roses and has taken on the colour of the petals.
6. Strain into a sterilised bottle and keep in the fridge.