Rosewater, Orange-blossom water

[helenjp]

I'm looking to buy rosewater and orange-blossom water, and I'd love some advice on reliable brands or personal preferences.

I've found lots of online stores that sell rosewater or orange-blossom water...but only one which ships to Japan, so far.

[KatieLoeb]

Are there any enclaves of Middle Eastern or Turkish immigrants in Japan?? I've found the Cortas brand of Orange flower and Rose water to be quite reliable and universally available at Middle Eastern markets.

[prasantrin]

I can get some and ship it to you, if you like! There are at least two grocery stores in Kobe that carry rosewater (I'm not sure if they have orange blossom water).

If you want to search closer to home, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the stores in the Ameyoko-cho area carried it. Or some store in the vicinity of a mosque. Lots of mosques in the Kanto area, it seems. I wish I could help with brand names, but most of the stores I frequent only carry one brand, so I just buy whatever they have.

http://park2.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/tuics/mosques.htm#yatamachi for mosques.

[helenjp]

I'm tied to the computer for most of this month, but the Tokyo area halal shops which have websites don't list it. (Ikebukuro-Takadanobaba is a good area, for some reason).

There are not so many Turks in Japan, but plenty of Pakistanis and Iranians, so I'm sure it's around...just needs to be found.

Japanese department stores all seem to stock the same French brand - Monteux - little bit pricey, don't know anything about the brand, and also requires a trip into a more moneyed area of town to find it!

Thanks for information on the Cortas brand, it was listed on at least one online shopping site at reasonable prices, so good to know.

I'm still very interested to hear opinions of different brands though - I had a small supply left over from my father's pharmacy (from back when some medicines were compounded by pharmacists!), but it was of very average quality.

Secondly, you can recently buy rose-flavored chewing gum in Japan, and it's vile! I really want to avoid toothpastey-geraniol type of flavor.

As for orange-blossom, is ALL orange-blossom water from bitter orange blossom, or not?

[gfron1]

Here is a previous Rose Water topic that has good source info. I use Cortas as well. There is a new product out as of last year - rose nectar that is marketing toward cocktails, but was very nice when I sampled it at a Fancy Food Show. Here's the blurb from their sales site:

SENCE Rare European Rose Nectar

SENCE Rare European Rose Nectar is made from the petals of the centuries-old Kazanlak Rose, transplanted to Bulgaria from Syria and Egypt in 1256 A.D. These roses are harvested during a three-week period in early summer between the hours of 3 a.m. and 10 a.m. when dew levels are at their highest. The resulting nectar can be served alone as a refreshing alternative to soft drinks and juice, or it can be mixed with them. It can also be used as a cocktail ingredient when mixed with vodka, tequila, cognac, rum, gin, sake, champagne and some cordials. (I used it along with my Lemon Sorbet for an interesting new rose combination.) As the Kazanlak Rose is known to contain high levels of antioxidants, Nevada Rose, LLC has assembled a medical/health advisory team to appraise the health benefits of SENCE. MSRP: $4.99 for a 250-ml bottle. SENCE is also available in a low-sugar retail version under the brand name SENCE Silver. For more information, contact sales@sencenectar.com or call 702-896-4620. You can also visit www.SenceNectar.com.

[hummingbirdkiss]

can you find rose extract online or locally? that is what I do then I mix it with water to the desired strength...much better bargain than buying the water that is for sure ....

Edited February 11, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[helenjp]

Are Lebanese brands generally considered to be a good choice, or is Cortas a special case?

Is there a clear difference between products from France, Lebanon, and India, for example? (I don't just mean quality, I mean the actual fragrance)

Diluting extract...I wondered about that, and was interested to hear your response. However, the popularity of rose cosmetics, room fresheners etc in Japan has meant that we see a HUGE number of rose "oils", "extracts" etc, mostly from China. They are mostly not really suitable for use in food, and don't have a really attractive scent.