Culinaria: JP McMahon on cooking with rose petals

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But would it taste the same? Roses have a long history in cooking as an aromatic, and their associations inspire tales of love and lore. The Persians used rose petals to make wine; the Iranians to make jam; the English to flavour butter.

Rose petals evoke the emergence of the summer sun. In cooking, roses contribute subtle, sweet-smelling notes of the exotic (or for some they just taste like Turkish Delight). In Aniar, we like to pickle the petals to make a rose vinegar. To do this, pick and wash a large handful of unsprayed red or pink rose petals. Warm some white wine or cider vinegar. Place the petals in a kilner jar and pour the vinegar over them. Leave to infuse for a few weeks. Taste it intermittently. When ready, strain and keep in the fridge. Great in summer salads. If you don’t want to engage with wild roses (or someone else’s garden), you can buy small bags of dried roses.

They complement couscous in a wonderful fashion, giving it a decidedly Moorish twang. To make a beautiful rose-scented couscous, take 200g of couscous and mix with a small handful of rose petals and a teaspoon of ras-el-hanout (this is a spice mix originally made with rose petals). Mix the couscous with some raisins and toasted pine nuts. Warm 200ml of chicken or vegetable stock and pour over the couscous. Allow to stand for a few minutes. Chop some herbs (fennel, dill, and parsley) and mix into the couscous with 50g of butter. Finish with the juice and the rind of a large orange. Perhaps serve with some lightly-poached hake (you can always add a few rose petals into the poaching liquor).

Rose salt and rose sugar are also wonderful ways you can flavour your food. Think of a little rose salt with some Connemara Lamb or rose sugar in a beautiful pannacotta. Finally, rose-hips or haws, the fruit of the rose, make a wonderful syrup or jam.