Rose Water Story: How it is Made?
Rosewater is the natural water obtained through the mixture of oily water (ferment) with a rose scent, which is an outcome of the production of rose essential oil with pure, clean, and hot water, distilled evenly. And rose essential oil itself is one of the world’s most refined and most expensive essential oils.
Rosewater Usage
Rosewater has been used and revered in many cultures worldwide for thousands of years, including in the Middle Ages, as a skincare ingredient, as a perfume (due to its sweet scent), and in the food industry. It also has a long tradition of being used in medicine, including in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, as far back as the 7th century.
What kind of Roses is being used for the production of Rosewater?
There are over 150 species of roses and thousands of hybrids; roses can be found worldwide. However, only a few of them are known as oil-bearing roses that can be used for the production of high-quality Rose Water, and the most used type of rose that is used for the distillation of the rose water is the Damask rose (Rosa damascene), which is being cultivated in Bulgaria and Iran.
Why is Rose essential oil expensive?
The high price of Rose essential oil is the shallow oil content found in roses. To obtain one liter of essential oil, you will need about 5000 kg of rose petals.
Distillation of Rosewater:
For the distillation process of 30 liters of rosewater, the water to rose petals ratio is 5:3. You would need 50 liters of water for every 30 kg Rose petals.
Sources: 1: Medical News Today