ROSE LEMONADE
One of my favorite scents and flavours ever is rose and Cape Breton Island has wild rose bushes EVERYWHERE! It is important to note that you should browse many spots to leave plenty for the pollinators to do their jobs if you are foraging for a large amount of petals.
Simple Syrup
All delicious drinks of this nature start with a simple syrup. You can use fresh or dehydrated roses. When plants are dehydrated, their cell structures are easier to saturate with water, and as it cools, it draws out flavours and nutritional value with a much greater ease. I find dehydrated petals provide a more potent flavour and a deeper coloured syrup.
You can make a great syrup with one cup of rose petals. If you have a little less than that but also have a quality food-grade rose water, you are all set! Rose water can really stretch the flavor and a very small amount will go a long way.
There are two methods to making a simple syrup. The gentle method is essentially steeping the plant matter in hot water (tea), letting it cool slowly and infuse preferrably overnight. This tea is used to bring to a boil with sugar to make a syrup. Flower petals and floral oils and essences are delicate and this method preserves more of the nuance in flavors. For rose simple syrup, I have found bringing the petals to a boil to be just as delicious and a richer coloured syrup - especially when they were dehydrated. I would go in other directions when making a syrup with flowers like lilacs.
WATER & SUGAR ratios
The general consensus is a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar, simmered and condensed until it reaches a thicker, syrupy consistency. I have made delicious syrups with 1 cup of plant matter to 2 cups or more of water and sugar, however.
making LEMONADE
Add your water and rose petals to a pot, stir until sugar is dissolved and it comes to a boil. Turn burner down slightly and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Once it has reached its syrupy consistency, take it off of the heat. Strain out the petals. As it cools, add citrus (lemon, lime or both are delicious). The amount is to taste. Watch as the colour of your syrup intensifies even more once you add your citrus juices! Add a pinch of salt if you like, or add fresh lemon balm etc when you put it in the fridge. There is so much you can pair with wild roses.
What about the petals?
They look beautiful in the lemonade and are easy to chew, but you could also probably dehydrate them and powder them even after all that extraction. I have thrown them in my banana bread, and frozen the clump to use later, muddled into minty mojitos.
