Herb & floral syrup
Rose Syrup
Dried petals for body, a splash of rose water for perfume. Delicate, never like hand soap.
- 27 min total
- 1¼ cups + 3 tbsp340 ml
- Keeps 2 weeks
Quick answer
Rose syrup is simple syrup steeped with dried culinary rose petals and finished with a little rose water. Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water, steep ½ cup dried petals off the heat for 20 minutes, strain, and stir in 1 teaspoon rose water.
Petals and rose water each do half the job. Steeped petals give a soft, tea-like floral body and a blush color, and rose water adds the bright perfume that petals alone can't deliver. Using both means you need very little of either, which is how you get rose that tastes like a garden instead of a bar of soap.
The squeeze of lemon at the end isn't only for balance. With red or pink petals, a little acid shifts the color from dull amber toward pink.
Tastesroseflorallightly tart
The recipe
Rose Syrup
Ingredients for 1¼ cups + 3 tbsp340 ml
You’ll need: small saucepan, rose water, fine-mesh strainer, swing-top bottle, kitchen scalesmall saucepan, rose water, fine-mesh strainer, swing-top bottle, kitchen scale
Method
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Dissolve
Warm the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until clear and steaming, about 3 minutes.
1 cup200 g granulated sugar1 cup240 ml water1 tsp1 tsp rose water
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Steep the petals
Take the pan off the heat, stir in the rose petals, cover and steep for 20 minutes.
½ cup8 g dried culinary rose petals
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Strain
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the petals lightly to get the syrup out.
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Finish and bottle
Once the syrup is warm rather than hot, stir in the rose water ½ tsp at a time, tasting as you go, then add the lemon juice. Cool, bottle and refrigerate.
1 tsp1 tsp lemon juice
Storage. Keep it in a sealed bottle in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The rose aroma softens over time, so taste and add a drop more rose water if it fades. Throw it out if it turns cloudy or smells off.
Per 1 tbsp (15 ml): about 34 kcal, 8.8 g sugar (estimate).
How to use it
Rose latte
1 tbsp (15 ml) in a 12 oz latte. It's especially good with pistachio or a pinch of cardamom.
Rose lemonade
1 part rose syrup, 1 part lemon juice and 4 parts cold still or sparkling water.
Rose spritz
½ oz (15 ml) rose syrup and ½ oz (15 ml) lemon juice, topped with 4 oz (120 ml) sparkling wine.
Rose gin fizz
2 oz (60 ml) gin, ¾ oz (22 ml) lemon juice and ¾ oz (22 ml) rose syrup, shaken, then topped with soda water.
Rose milk
2 tbsp (30 ml) stirred into a glass of cold milk with a pinch of cardamom, a South Asian favorite.
Desserts
Brush it over sponge cake layers, or drizzle it on yogurt, berries or vanilla ice cream.
Gear for this recipe
Otis Classic 16 oz Swing-Top Glass Bottles (6-pack)
Airtight swing caps keep syrup fresh for weeks, and 16 oz holds a full batch. Spare gaskets, labels and a marker included.
Best for Storing and gifting any syrup
Escali Primo Digital Kitchen Scale (11 lb)
Best for Exact ratios, every batch
Cuisinart Fine Mesh Stainless Strainers (set of 3)
Best for Every infused or fruit syrup
Cortas Rose Water (10 oz)
Best for Rose syrup and orgeat
More gear for this recipe (2)
Food-Grade Dried Rose Petals (culinary, 2 oz)
Best for Rose syrup, rose lattes, gin drinks
Cuisinart Chef's Classic 1.5 qt Stainless Saucepan with Lid
Best for Every stovetop syrup
Tips for the best batch
- Use only petals sold as culinary or food-grade. Middle Eastern grocers and spice shops carry them. Florist roses are usually sprayed.
- Add rose water after the syrup comes off the heat, because heat drives off its perfume.
- Stop adding rose water just before you think it's enough. Rose seems stronger in a finished drink than on a spoon.
- Garden roses work if they're unsprayed and fragrant. Use about 2 packed cups of fresh petals and snip off the white base of each petal, which is bitter.
- Rose loves raspberry, strawberry, lemon, pistachio, cardamom and vanilla.
Variations
Rose water only
Skip the petals and stir 2–3 tsp rose water into a cooled batch of 1:1 simple syrup. It takes 2 minutes and keeps the syrup crystal clear.
Raspberry rose
Simmer 100 g raspberries in the syrup for 5 minutes before adding the petals, then strain well. It's vivid pink and great with sparkling wine.
Rose cardamom
Crack 4 green cardamom pods into the steep for a syrup made for lattes, rose milk and lassi.
Deep pink
Add 1–2 dried hibiscus flowers with the petals for a reliably rosy color and a gentle tartness.
Questions people ask
Should I use rose water or dried rose petals for rose syrup?
Both, if you can. Petals add body and color, and rose water adds a bright perfume. Rose water alone makes a quick, clear syrup. Petals alone taste softer and more tea-like.
Why did my rose syrup turn brown?
Many dried petals give an amber color, and long steeping or high heat darkens it further. A squeeze of lemon shifts red or pink petals toward pink, and a dried hibiscus flower guarantees a rosy color.
Can I use roses from my garden?
Yes, if they've never been sprayed and smell strongly of rose. Use about 2 packed cups of fresh petals per batch and trim off the bitter white bases.
How long does rose syrup last?
About 2 weeks in a sealed bottle in the fridge, or 3 months frozen.
What does rose syrup taste like?
Sweet and floral with a soft, perfumed finish, like the smell of a rose in liquid form. It's subtle in milk drinks and brighter with citrus.