How To Make Rose Sugar
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This simple and exquisite rose sugar is pretty, tasty, and fun. Consisting of sugar and rose petals, this is one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever make. Add it to iced tea, lemonade, or the tops of baked treats for added zing and to wow your family and friends.
Nothing says elegance in baking like using edible flowers for both decoration and taste. Violets, nasturtiums, chive blossoms, lilacs; these are all edible flowers that we have tried eating and using in recipes and have enjoyed, and there are a lot more edible flowers out there, including roses!
You might not necessarily think of roses as something to eat, but the floral fragrance they possess actually translates into a very nice floral flavor, and that’s why we recommend this rose-infused sugar recipe.
But we aren’t the first to suggest this wonderful combination. Sir Hugh Platt, a 16th-century English writer and horticulturist, had a great deal of admiration for roses, especially in the context of their culinary, medicinal, and perfumery uses, and it seems he was the first to suggest infusing roses with sugar. This is a 450+ year old idea!
We love using things directly from our garden, like lilacs to make lilac sugar, calendula to make calendula oil, and rosemary to make rosemary water and rosemary tea.
This rose sugar recipe brings us the same joy. Making something useful and fun with things we have growing at home…there is no better craft!
Recipe Highlights
This recipe is:
- Fun
- Creative
- Inexpensive
- and
- Adds sophistication to your baking.
Rose Sugar Ingredients
Organic rose petals. Fresh or dried. See tip below. Don’t use anything sprayed with pesticides. Play around with different colors and varieties! Use whatever you have available. Just, maybe make sure they are bug-free before using them in this recipe.
Sugar. We use organic cane sugar.
Tools
- Food processor, blender, or coffee grinder
- Baking sheet
- Glass jar
- Sifter (optional)
How to Make Rose Sugar:
Step 1: Place your sugar and rose petals into a food processor or blender. You could even use a coffee grinder if you decide to make a smaller batch.
Step 2: Blend until the petals are of a fine consistency.
Step 3: Spread the rose sugar on a baking sheet to dry out for a few days before storing. I like to lightly cover the rose sugar with parchment paper so no debris or sticky kid fingers get into the sugar.
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The second method (infusing):
- Create layers of sugar and rose petals in a glass jar, alternating between the two until you have run out of ingredients.
- Let the rose petals and sugar infuse for a couple of weeks. The sugar will draw the rose oil out of the petals.
- Sift out the petals and use or store your sugar accordingly.
Storage
Keep your rose sugar in an airtight container in your pantry or freezer. As long as the petals are fully dried out the sugar will keep for six months or longer.
Tips
- Use organic rose petals.
- You can wash your roses before making this recipe, but make sure to allow them to dry completely before starting the recipe.
- Fresh or dried will both work, but dried petals will take longer to infuse in to the sugar. You want the oils/flavors of the petals to seep in to the sugar, and this will happen much, much slower if the petals are already dry. We used fresh.
- The pretty pink or red color of the roses will fade after it dries out. To prevent color fading, try storing your sugar in the freezer. This may help.
- For beautiful colored sugar, use more brightly colored roses. White roses will most likely turn a brown color.
How to Use Rose Sugar
- Use this in place of regular sugar to sweeten your iced tea. This could also be a lovely addition to your green tea latte.
- Sprinkle the sugar on top of sugar cookies or shortbread cookies for a touch of elegance. These GF shortbread cookies are yummy!
- Incorporate rose sugar in baking where white sugar is called for to add a bit more floral flavor.
- Use it as a sugar scrub. Check out this DIY sugar scrub guide to see how to turn your rose sugar into a wonderful body product.
- Sprinkle over fresh fruit on a hot sunny day.
- Mix in to whipped cream or homemade yogurt.
- Sprinkle over baked treats like sourdough scones or muffins.
If you have found other creative ways to use rose sugar please comment below!
FAQs
Sweet and floral! But not overpoweringly so.
You can use it in a variety of ways. See the above list for ideas.
Both can be used. Fresh petals offer stronger aroma but require drying before storage. Dried petals are more convenient but require a lot longer for the flavor to infuse.
You should only use edible, pesticide-free rose petals. Heirloom varieties, such as the Apothecary Rose, will have a stronger scent/flavor.
No. Just use the petals. Leave the rose hips for tea!
Absolutely! Follow the same instructions above to either blend or infuse your flowers or herbs. Happy crafting!
Try these other recipes using herbs/flowers from your garden:
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Please and thank you. Tag me @ablossominglife
Rose Sugar
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh rose petals* tightly packed
Instructions
- Place your sugar and rose petals into a food processor or blender. You could even use a coffee grinder if you decide to make a smaller batch.
- Blend until the petals are of a fine consistency.
- Spread the rose sugar on a baking sheet to dry out for a few days before storing. Stir occasionally.
Notes
- Use organic rose petals.
- *Fresh or dried will both work, but dried petals will take longer to infuse in to the sugar. You want the oils/flavors of the petals to seep in to the sugar, and this will happen much, much slower if the petals are already dry. We used fresh.
- The pretty pink or red color of the roses will fade after it dries out. To prevent color fading, try storing your sugar in the freezer. This may help.