Rose for scent (flavor)

[Crunchie]

I've grown a few roses successfully before, but I'll freely admit that I'm clueless about all of the varieties!! I would like a rose that has a strong scent because, thanks to a thread on homemade wines over at BYC, I really would like to try my hand at rose petal wine! However, the roses I have growing around here now don't smell like anything at all.

Any suggestions on where to start? Appearance doesn't matter too much to me, as I love the look of most any of the different varieties. I need something somewhat hardy as I'm likely to neglect and abuse it. I saw something about David Austin roses having a lot of scent in one of the other threads here, would those be a good choice?? I do particularly like the look of the English roses.

 

[robbobbin]

No clue which roses to use, and no time to goggle it for you right now, but wanted to say-I've tried rose flavored foods and I loved them. Especially rose wine, rose tea, and rose jelly chocolates! yum! I hope you are successful.

 

[mom]

I've grown a few roses successfully before, but I'll freely admit that I'm clueless about all of the varieties!! I would like a rose that has a strong scent because, thanks to a thread on homemade wines over at BYC, I really would like to try my hand at rose petal wine! However, the roses I have growing around here now don't smell like anything at all.

Any suggestions on where to start? Appearance doesn't matter too much to me, as I love the look of most any of the different varieties. I need something somewhat hardy as I'm likely to neglect and abuse it. I saw something about David Austin roses having a lot of scent in one of the other threads here, would those be a good choice?? I do particularly like the look of the English roses.

Zone 7A can grow almost anything - stick to Antiques or Old Garden Roses. Depending on your disease pressure you can grow anything from hybrid teas to Gallicas & Albas. I would suggest you visit a rose garden near you, preferably one that doesn't use a lot of chemical sprays if any - you want to pick roses that will be easy to grow and you don't want one that will have to be pampered with chemicals especially since you plan to ingest the petals.

Public Gardens are a good place to start. Find a rose that you enjoy the fragrance of and go from there. If you find a rose (named) that you like, I bet you I can tell you where to buy one.

Your local rose society can also give you some tips about which roses are fairly carefree and fragrant in your area and gardens to visit.

 

[aquarose]

Our local Indian restaurant has rose ice cream. (We prefer the ice cream at our Japanese place: ginger, green tea and red bean)

 

[Tutter]

I used to distill old variety rose petals, and the rose water is actually sweet. I always thought it made an interesting jelly.

 

[patandchickens]

I wonder if you might want to look for the variety/ies used for traditional or modern-day Attar of Roses production. I believe that one of them is called "Kazanlik" or something vaguely like that, and/or may have "Bulgarian" attached to the name. Fat lot of help I am

Pat

 

[Crunchie]

Gosh my own post is making me hungry!! I absolutely loooovvveee rose-flavored food. And one of my most guilty pleasures...smoking honeyed rose-scented tobacco (shisha) in my hookah. Don't do that very often, actually haven't at all in a couple of years since I've been pregnant/had a child! I made a batch of rose dark chocolate truffles for Christmas one year. Those were seriously the bomb, if I may toot my own horn...row

Even more OT: also love the green tea-flavored stuff. Reed's green tea and ginger ice cream. YUM. AY.

Pat, that is helpful. I know a little bit about the production of essential oils...that, and being ever-so-skilled at the Google, just might get me some information!

Seems like the old-style roses might be the way to go and not too terribly hard to find. I spent some time on the David Austin web site earlier. Some of those varieties sounded perfect--shoot, the descriptions of his more fragrant roses read, in fact, like a wine list! But they are all sold out 'till next year. Jackson Perkins sells a few of his varieties, but none of the more fragrant ones. Anyone know of anyplace here in the States where I could order David Austin roses?

 

[mom]

Gosh my own post is making me hungry!! I absolutely loooovvveee rose-flavored food. And one of my most guilty pleasures...smoking honeyed rose-scented tobacco (shisha) in my hookah. Don't do that very often, actually haven't at all in a couple of years since I've been pregnant/had a child! I made a batch of rose dark chocolate truffles for Christmas one year. Those were seriously the bomb, if I may toot my own horn...row

Even more OT: also love the green tea-flavored stuff. Reed's green tea and ginger ice cream. YUM. AY.

Pat, that is helpful. I know a little bit about the production of essential oils...that, and being ever-so-skilled at the Google, just might get me some information!

Seems like the old-style roses might be the way to go and not too terribly hard to find. I spent some time on the David Austin web site earlier. Some of those varieties sounded perfect--shoot, the descriptions of his more fragrant roses read, in fact, like a wine list! But they are all sold out 'till next year. Jackson Perkins sells a few of his varieties, but none of the more fragrant ones. Anyone know of anyplace here in the States where I could order David Austin roses?

Chamblees

http://www.chambleeroses.com/

Vintage Gardens

http://www.vintagegardens.com/

Ashdown Roses

http://www.ashdownroses.com/

 

[Rosalind]

Most of the rugosas make good culinary roses. My personal fave for cooking, perfume, etc. is the Apothecary Rose. It's a shrubby pink thing that is extremely disease- and bug-resistant.

 

[Lalaith]

I make a champagne and old rose sorbet from the wild roses because their flavour is stongest. Their hips make a very nice tea (iced or hot) and they are full of vitamin C.

If I could bear to eat a David Austin rose (they are so precious to my nose!), it would be Jude the Obscure. It has a very sweet scent which in the literature they refer to as "guava and sauterne wine." Tee hee. Sounds a little pretentious, but it is very nice indeed. Because it is an almost white rose, you might want to throw in a few petals of Othello with it for the nice red rose colour when you cook.

I can't get Peter Beales roses here, but I believe there is a nursery in South Carolina. Beales has roses in the old style very similar to David Austin. We used to have a garden full of them in New Zealand and they thrived. Lovely scent as well.