Rose petals

[Sandra Levine]

This thread is positively poetic Thank you, all, even if I never make almond milk or candied rose petals.

[nyfirepatrolchef]

Sahadi Importers has the preserve too.

Do you know what the preserve tastes like? Where is it from?

Thanks for sharing this.

Tis Romanian!

Its just I love Sahadis from the day I walked in there for the first time...and the owner is such a decent standup kinda guy I have a personal pleadge to plug his shop all I can.

Havent tasted it....its got sugar...nono for me

*sigh*

I love Sahadis as well. Wish I was not as lazy about going to Atlantic avenue. There are two great stores opposite one another. Sahadis and Oriental Baker.

Oriental Bakery has the best Basboussa and other Middle Eastern sweet. It is my own little bit of paradise in NYC.

and if you treat the guys and gals with a little kindness (I love to go in and make snide remarks about the snide yuppies that frequent the place...right in front of them...not all yuppies are snooty and snotty little whine cellars...but having done the same kinda job as the folks at Sahadis....and experiencing the same kinda nonsense.....in light of how well they treat ME....Im rather protective of them) theyll go to the mat for you.

I seriously doubt Charlie would have it any other way.

And for GOD sake dont forget Damascus Bakery.

[Suvir Saran]

And for GOD sake dont forget Damascus Bakery.

Yes... They have some of the nicest packaged Pita I have ever found.

[Suvir Saran]

At the Johari Bazaar (Jewelers Bazaar, that has many Diamond and Gem traders from the Diamond district in NYC always there in abundance) and also at the Hawa Mahal (Wind Palace) in Jaipur, you can find on the street corners some of the best Gulaab Kaa Thanda.

Gulaab Kaa Thanda is the nicest Rose Milk Shake I have ever drunk or will in my lifetime, I am afraid. Maybe the family making them is from the Chefette and Steve Klc school of subtlety and finesse.

The milk is whole milk that has only been enriched with very little heavy cream. It is flavored with home made- PURE rose water, crushed rose petals and just a very very almost insignificant amount of sugar. The mix if churned and frothed and then served in very Tall glasses called Ek Ser Ke Gilass (Glasses that measure One Ser, I think one Ser equals a litre of milk, not sure. I will have to check on that.) and the mix is chilled when you drink it. It is long after you have left the Johari bazaar that your mouth begins to experience the sensations left by the essence of the rose. It is too late to go back for another glass of heaven. So all you can do is wait for the next time you will be near that busy and bustling market. And if you are like me, it will be later that same day.

Funniest was that recently I was introduced to a financial analyst whose job was to court the royal family of Jaipur to invest their money in his NYC Private Bank. He missed this milk the most from his visits to Jaipur. He said he wakes up often at night, for he is lost dreaming about food even as he is happily sharing his space with his beloved wife. But those dreams make him smile and want to share with her what he is able to experience while working in foreign lands.

[chefette]

I just found an interesting site with several rose petal recipes that might be of interest

http://www.amityheritageroses.com/Edible.html

Amity Heritage Roses

[Eden]

rather than start a new thread, I'll just bring this one to the top

A friend & I just candied a bunch of rose petals. normally I use them fairly quickly, but in this case we'd like to save them until october. any tips for storing candied rose petals for several months? We used only sugar & rosewater (no egg) for our candying process if that matters.

[Fibilou]

I am having our caterers make an adaptation of Pierre Herme's ispahan for the dessert at my upcoming wedding, I am doing the rose petal garnish myself.

Please could someone give me a tip on getting the "dewdrop" on the tip of the petal perfect - I was thinking gelatine leaf, but have experimented and cannot get it quite right. Also it would be helpful for the florist to know which roses to order.

Thanks

[chefpeon]

Regarding the type of roses, I would just say to the florist "red roses", as the garnish is simply a red rose petal. I would specify that the roses need to be just on the verge of blooming or beginning to bloom so that you are assured a hearty fresh petal. There actually is an Ispahan Rose, but it is pink and obviously not the type of rose petal Herme is using as a garnish.

The "dewdrop" on the rose is sugar syrup. Most likely, knowing Herme, a rose syrup. The "drop" would be placed on the rose petal shortly before service, and needs to go on the petal AFTER the petal has been placed on the dessert. Trying to place "dewdrops" on rose petals in advance, and then trusting the caterers to get the petals on the desserts without the drop falling off is just askin' for trouble. Give the caterers a box of petals (or just the roses themselves) and a squeeze bottle with a fairly viscous sugar syrup solution inside. The tip of the squeeze bottle should have an opening that is really really small. Instruct the caterers to place the petal on top (it's probably held in place with the same buttercream that's inside of the macaron) and then to squeeze a "drop" on the rose petal. Give them a picture of what you want, or show them step-by-step how to do it, and then hope they can pull it off.

Edited April 9, 2007 by chefpeon (log)

[SarahW]

The Herme recipe published in Art Culinaire in summer of 2005, included the dew-drop.

It's just a drop of glucose.

That you can pick up in specialty shops, online, or, at Wal-mart, craft stores like Michael's or other vendors that stock Wilton cake decorating supplies.

[arriba!]

Your guests are lucky indeed! Watch out for wedding crashers!!

[chefpeon]

It's just a drop of glucose.

Any sugar solution will do. Sugar syrup (viscous), corn syrup....glucose.

You don't need to do any special shopping.....corn syrup is fine.

[Fibilou]

Thankyou all, I have plenty of liquid glucose (picked up on the cheap !) so will have an experiment.