[Sca-cooks] Roses

[Laura C. Minnick]

jemoore at firstam.com wrote:
>
> Now I'm probably asking a dumb question, but...
>
> Just recieved a book from dover <rose recipes from olden times> which is
> quite interesting, yet almost all the recipes are from 1650 on.
>
> Anyway...wondering what roses to use.  I have a lot of store bought roses
> which I have dried, but can I use those to make <sugar of roses> ( delights
> for ladies-hugh platt)

Hmm. Not having Hugh Platt in front of me, I may be way off- but usually
when flowers are used in recipes, they are fresh, so that the volatile
oils in them can leach out into the food. Dried flowers really won't do
that. If you are thinking of using commercially grown flowers fresh- I
wouldn't. You have no idea what they've been sprayed with. And some of
those chemicals are nastier than artificial sweeteners!

I would cultivate the old lady down the block- admire her roses, show
great interest in how she cares for them, her 'tricks of the trade',
etc. And when the roses are in bloom, watch, and when they start to sag,
ask her if you can have the bloomed out ones to experiment with some
recipes. She'll probably be happy to give them to you!

Of course, if you live next door to Master A, that might not be
practical...

'Lainie