A rose by any other name

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Persia in Peckham
Persia in Peckham

By Sally Butcher

Published 2007

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The world is a rose – smell it and pass it to your friends.

Iranian proverb

The cult of the rose is big in Iran. Its exquisite fragrance and flavour are greatly sought after, and the tranquillity of a rose garden is regarded as being as close to paradise as it is possible for a mere mortal to voyage. Persian literature is heavily infused with references to it, and much of our rose knowledge and indeed rose vocabulary stems from Persian garden lore and Persian words.

The flower used to make rose products is the Gul Mohammadi, known to us as the Damascene Rose. The petals are dried and used in tea, cordials, ice-cream, and ground into spice mixtures. But it is rosewater which is the industry’s biggest product. It is made by steeping rose petals in water, and then distilling that water no less than four times. Beyond its obvious appearances in baking and sweets, it has myriad other uses, and I would recommend that every pantry should have some. Check these out: