FLAVORS
Rose water complements: • saffron • pistachio • cardamom • vanilla • orangeblossom water • almond • cherry • apple
Persian rice cookies from Deana Gunn are
made with rose water.
flavor profile using Middle Eastern flavorings.
We found the perfect flavor with rose water.
The color works well visually with the color
of the rhubarb, and its floral notes help boost
the nose and flavor of the vegetable.”
The color works well visually with the color
the nose and flavor of the vegetable.”
water also appears in his pastry glazes
and dough. He sets rose petal preserves in
yogurt, or uses rose petals as a garnish.
Urie Shields uses a spherification technique
to make the rose water mimic tapioca,
providing a bursting effect within the
dessert. She explains that the technique is
actually a mixture of cooked tapioca and
spherified pearls of rose water made through
the sodium alginate/calcium chloride
method. “When you eat the dish, you get
some bites of tapioca pearls and some bites
of the little bursts of rose water,” she says. “It
provides a balance to the dish, and it makes
eating it fun for the guest, as well.”
“Rose water offers a connection between
the sense of smell and taste that is instantly
noticed and easily recognizable,” says
Cantagallo. “I enjoy eau de rose because
it is uncommon in American cuisine and
often leads people to really pay attention to
what they are eating. Even the people who
willingly order it often are surprised by the
flavor and scent of the dessert.”
water enhances his desserts, specifically
cold preparations, with its floral or aromatic
notes where the scent is not as pronounced.
MODERN TAKES
Town House in Chilhowie, Va., features a
vanilla-poached rhubarb dessert made with
rose water, buttermilk ricotta, chives and
mace. The impetus for the dish started with
the desire to create a dessert based on
rhubarb, and something unique to pair with it.
“We had the idea in the spring, and we
noticed that onions grow at the same time—
and often in the same soil—as rhubarb, so
it made for a natural pairing,” says Karen
Urie Shields, executive pastry chef at Town
House. “We added tapioca pearls, and
started to consider adding an interesting
Even Asian desserts benefit from rose water.
Pichet Ong, chef/owner of Batch Bakery,
New York, and consulting chef at Spot
Dessert Bar, Village Tart and Spice Market,
also in New York, prepares a handful of
desserts that include rose water, such as a
condensed milk and rose water ice parfait,
pistachio/rose jam thumbprint cookie and
ricotta rasmalai with rose water, pistachio
and candied rose petals. Ong believes rose
“I like using it in cold desserts, such as
sorbets, semifreddo or milk shakes,” he says.
“I first used rose water in a sorbet recipe
that ended up being part of a refreshing
sundae, like a falooda in Indian cuisine, with
jellies, fruits and coconut-cookie crumbs.
The dessert’s aroma reminded me of my
childhood when I would visit temples.”
The one-acre rose garden at The Inn at
Dos Brisas in Washington, Texas, provides
a full bounty of blossoms, particularly in
the spring and summer, making it easy to
include rose water on the dessert menu.
“Incorporating rose water into the menu
adds a little something extra,” says Jason
Robinson, executive chef.
Marzipan tinted with rose geranium and
scented with rose water; dates stuffed
with rose-water-scented marzipan tinted
with beet juice; and a North African cookie
made with ground almonds, flour, sugar and
sesame seeds, scented with rose water,
come from Priscilla Martel.
