Roses: Petals

For the Greeks, from whom many of the relevant legends come, the rose was a symbol of love, beauty, and happiness. The Latin word rosa comes from the Greek word for red, rodos. The Romans, who associated the rose with Venus, goddess of love, scented their wine with rose petals.

Roses had probably first been cultivated, several thousands of years ago, in Persia. It is known that Persia was making and exporting rose wine from rose petals as long as 2,000 years ago. In Iran rose petals are still preserved in jams or dried to be used to perfume many sweet dishes. The dried petals are also added to the spice mixture advieh used in flavouring savoury dishes.