Rose water or rose syrup is the hydrosol portion
of the distillate of rose petals. Rose water, itself a by-product
of the production of rose oil for use in perfume, is used to
flavour food, as a component in some cosmetic and medical
preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and
Asia.
Rose perfumes are made from rose oil, also called attar of
roses, which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained
by steam-distilling the crushed petals of roses, a process first
developed in Persia and Bulgaria. Rose water is a by-product of
this process.
Rose water has a very distinctive flavour and is used heavily in
South Asian, West Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine—especially in
sweets. For example, rose water gives loukoumia (turkish delight)
and gulab jamuns their distinctive flavours. In Iran it is also
added to tea, ice cream, cookies and other sweets in small
quantities, and in the Arab world and India it is used to flavour
milk and dairy-based dishes such as rice pudding. It is also a key
ingredient in sweet lassi, a drink made from yogurt, sugar and
various fruit juices, and is also used to make jallab. In Malaysia
and Singapore, rose water is mixed with milk, sugar and pink food
colouring to make a sweet drink called bandung. In Western Europe,
rose water is sometimes used to flavour both marzipan and a
shell-shaped French cake, sometimes called a cookie, known as a
madeleine.
A rose water ointment is occasionally used as an emollient, and
rose water is sometimes used in cosmetics such as cold creams.
Zamzam water, used to clean the Kaaba, a holy shrine of Islam
located in Mecca, includes rose water as a component. Rose water is
used in some Hindu rituals as well.
Rose water was first produced by Muslim chemists in the medieval
Islamic world through the distillation of roses, for use in the
drinking and perfumery industries.