[Sca-cooks] Table condiments

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Arianwen wrote:
> Wow, in the supermarket the other day looking for something else 
> I was tempted by a jar of rose petal preserves.  Then to read 
> about rose petal jam here, maybe I should go back...
> 
> Or do you make your own...

I would have to be able to find enough rose petals that were untouched by pesticides, and that would be difficult.

People who grow roses tend to spray them with all sorts of stuff to keep the bugs away that i don't want to consume.

And commercial roses, well, florists or flower wholesalers often put extra ingredients into the water the flowers sit in which will keep them fresher longer, and, again, stuff i don't want to consume.

I bought a Turkish brand of rose petal jam once and i found the texture to be unpleasant - it was very gummy - maybe they added too much pectin or something.

There's a Greek brand, in distinctively oval-shaped bottles, that i've had good experiences with for all sorts of jams and fruit preserves, not just their rose petal, which was quite good... Great, now that i'm searching the 'net for the brand, i can't find it. Oh, well.

I do recommend reading labels carefully. I avoid artificial flavors and artificial colors. I try to find brands that have only or little more than fruit, sugar, and pectin.

As i said, it was served on the tables in small dishes along with small dishes of pickles. I like adding it to muhallebiyya. And it's nice in rice pudding, or stirred into plain vanilla frosting for a simple white or yellow cake. And a local cupcake place makes a cupcake of which i am fond: Axel Rose - a rose vanilla cake with rose vanilla frosting scattered with a few rose petals and black sprinkles.

Urtatim