Benefits of Eating Roses: Top Methods Revealed

The blooming roses are incredibly beautiful, offering high aesthetic value, and are also edible. However, many are unaware of how to make roses delicious.

There are numerous ways to consume roses, such as brewing dried rosebuds, making rose petal jam, rose cookies, and rose sugar, or even turning them into tasty dishes. Let’s explore some methods of consuming roses.

How to consume roses for the best effect?

Rose tea: The most common method is brewing dried rosebuds. It’s a simple and convenient way. Take four or five dried buds, add two or three red dates, soak them in hot water. Once the buds are fully soaked, you can add some honey to taste. The rose tea is bright and clear, with rosebuds floating on top, making it a feast for the eyes. Enjoying the tea while admiring the roses is a delightful experience.

Rose petal jam: Whether spread on bread, paired with pastries, or simply brewed with hot water, rose petal jam is an excellent dessert. To make rose jam, use freshly picked edible rose petals, wash them and drain the water, then add white or brown sugar (according to personal preference). Mix the petals and sugar evenly, then seal it to ferment.

Rose cookies: The difference between rose cookies and regular cookies lies in the addition of roses. The preparation method is similar to regular cookies, except that the filling includes rose jam, which is pre-prepared and mixed with other fillings. The presence of rose petals also provides beautifying effects when consumed.

Rose sugar: Rose sugar is often added to other products as filling and is very sweet because of the high sugar content. To make rose sugar, wash the fresh petals, let them dry, and put them in a glass jar. Then, add salt, honey, and a plant-based acid adjuster, mix them evenly and seal it. Once the moisture from the rose petals ferments, add white sugar, mix it evenly and seal it to continue fermenting. With these steps, the rose sugar is complete.

What are some ways to consume roses?

Rose Porridge

Ingredients: 100g japonica rice, 20g rose petals, 10g cherries, 30g white sugar.

Instructions:

1. Pick roses that are not fully bloomed, gently remove the petals, and rinse with cold water.
2. Rinse the japonica rice, soak in cold water for half an hour, drain, and set aside.
3. Add approximately 1000 ml of cold water to a pot, bring the rice to a boil over high heat, then simmer on low heat to make porridge.
4. Add rose petals, cherries, and white sugar to the porridge and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Rose-Infused Black Fungus

Ingredients: Rose petals, celery, black fungus, vinegar, salt, chicken essence, sesame oil.

Instructions:

1. Soak and clean the black fungus, tear into small pieces. Rinse rose petals in salt water and chop celery.
2. Heat a wok with a little tea oil, stir-fry celery, add black fungus, a little water, salt, and chicken essence for seasoning. Finally, add a little vinegar.
3. Let the cooked vegetables cool, add rose petals, mix well, drizzle a little sesame oil, and serve.

Rose Smoked Eggs

Ingredients: 8 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cooking wine, 2 star anise, 1/2 cup dried rose, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons rice.

Instructions:

1. Submerge eggs in cold water, cook on low heat for 10 minutes until the water boils, remove and soak in cold water for 2 minutes, then peel.
2. Add 400ml water and spices to the pot, add eggs after boiling, cook for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and soak for 6 hours.
3. Cover the bottom of the pot with foil, add smoking materials.
4. Add eggs after placing the steaming rack.
5. Cover the pot, turn to medium heat after smoking, and smoke for 6 minutes, then turn off the heat.
6. Remove eggs after the smoke disappears.

Rose Stir-Fry Three Muds

Ingredients: 250g yam, some green vegetable leaves, 350g red dates, 250g fresh silkworm pupa, 2 rose petals, 2 osmanthus sugar petals, 1/4 green plum, 350g white sugar, 75g cooked lard.

Instructions:

1. Steam yam and silkworm pupa until soft, peel the yam, and mash separately on a chopping board.
2. Cook red dates until soft, remove skin and mash, mash green vegetable leaves, squeeze out the juice, chop green plum.
3. Heat a wok over medium heat, add 25g lard, 150g white sugar, stir until melted, add yam mud and stir well, remove and place in the middle of the plate.
4. In the original pot, add 25g lard, 150g white sugar, stir until melted, add silkworm pupa mud and stir well, add vegetable mud and stir-fry until well mixed, remove and place on the left side of the plate.
5. Add 25g lard, 50g white sugar, stir until melted, add date mud and stir well, remove and place on the right side of the plate.
6. Place rose petals on the yam, sprinkle chopped green plum and sugar osmanthus evenly on the three muds.

Rose Radish Shreds

Ingredients: White radish, rose petals, salt, rice vinegar, white sugar, MSG, sesame oil.

Instructions:

1. Peel and shred the white radish and the radish.
2. Wash a rose, remove the petals and shred.
3. Mix radish shreds with salt, rice vinegar, white sugar, MSG, and sesame oil.
4. Add shredded rose petals and mix well.

Rose Chocolate Rice Balls

Ingredients: 150g glutinous rice flour, 20g rose jam, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 50g chocolate.

Instructions:

1. Mix fresh glutinous rice flour with a little warm water and knead (the dough will be a bit brittle at this point).
2. Divide the dough in half, knead one half with a teaspoon of rose jam, and knead the other half as is.
3. Divide each piece into 15g portions.
4. Fill the white dough with chopped chocolate.
5. Fill the rose dough with peanut butter and roll into a ball.
6. Boil water in a pot, add the rice balls, cook until the rice balls float on the water, cook for another minute and a half.

Rose Golden Shrimp

Ingredients: 6 large shrimp, 2 roses, breadcrumbs, 2g salt, 1 teaspoon cooking wine, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 20g cooking oil.

Instructions:

1. Remove the head and shell of the shrimp, make a horizontal cut on the back of the shrimp, remove the shrimp line, and rinse with running water.
2. Marinate the prepared shrimp with the ingredients and chopped rose petals for ten minutes, then coat evenly with breadcrumbs.
3. Pour cooking oil into the pot, heat to about 50% hot, fry the shrimp until cooked through, place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil, then plate and sprinkle with rose petal silk.

Rose Rice Balls

Ingredients: Glutinous rice, rice, rose petals, red bean paste, sugar osmanthus.

Instructions:

1. Rinse the glutinous rice, add a small amount of rice to cook into glutinous rice, set aside.
2. Rinse rose petals, fully control the moisture, cut into thin strips, set aside.
3. Mix red bean paste with a suitable amount of sugar osmanthus to make osmanthus bean paste, divide into several small portions, roll into balls.
4. Dip your hands in cold water, roll the glutinous rice into small balls, flatten like dumpling wrappers, fill with stuffing to make rice balls, roll in cut rose silk.

Rose Egg Soup

Ingredients: 10g rose petals, 30g chicken blood vine, 10g calyx plum flowers, 2 eggs.

Instructions: Add 3 bowls of clear water to cook together, cook the eggs, peel and cook for a while, add a small amount of white sugar, drink the soup and eat the eggs, once a day.

Friendly Reminder:

Although most recipes mention that edible roses are non-toxic and harmless to the human body, remember to wash off the dust on the surface of the rose before eating fresh roses, then soak in light salt water for one hour to disinfect and kill bacteria.