Rose

Rosa × damascena · Edible flower

40 pairings

The rose is the flower of woody perennial shrubs of the genus Rosa, prized in cooking for its intensely floral, faintly fruity petals. A handful of fragrant species — above all the damask rose (Rosa × damascena) and the cabbage rose (Rosa × centifolia) — are grown specifically for their scent, distilled into rosewater and rose oil and preserved as gulkand, jams, syrups and confit petals.

Picking a good onedrag

Food-grade, just opened, headyBrowned, limp and musty

Shop freshStill a food-grown bloom: scatter over sweets, steep into syrup, or layer with sugar for gulkand. Pinch off the pale heel first — that is the bitter part.Everyday best

Where it's fromSold as food, unsprayed, and well in date

The petalsColour good, the outer ring just beginning to relax

A petal in the handVelvety still, softening at the outermost edge

Smell at the bloomSweet and rosy, but you lean in to find it

What to look for, from food-grade, just opened, heady to browned, limp and musty.

Preparing