Rose Flowers

Appears in
On Food and Cooking

By Harold McGee

Published 2004

  • About

Roses, mainly from the Eurasian hybrid Rosa x damascena, have been used for millennia from the Middle East through Asia, usually dried or in the form of an extract (rose water). Their aroma comes mainly from the terpene geraniol. Roses are most often used in sweets, but are also found in the savory Moroccan spice mixture ras el hanout, and in North African sausages.