Between Pride, Men’s Health, Father’s Day & the new federal holiday of Juneteenth, National Rose Month has a tendency to get lost. So I am here to remind you, June is National Rose Month So Bring on the Love
Although Roses are not my favorite flower (sunflowers are my fav), it is still one of the scents I love most. Any beauty product that has rose as an ingredient I go for.
That said not all rose scents are ideal for me. Further, when it’s obviously synthetic rose oil the smell can be quite putrid. Below are some of my favorite rose scents.
Come back tomorrow for my latest Wine & More Reviews where I do a Rosé challenge to find the best Rosé in my local store. New Wine & More Reviews Every Wednesday at 8:00 pm EST. In the mean time, June is National Rose Month So Bring on the Love!
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME WOUld smell as sweet β William Shakespeareβs playΒ Romeo and Juliet
The nameΒ roseΒ comes from LatinΒ rosa, which was perhaps borrowed fromΒ Oscan, fromΒ GreekΒ ΟΟδον rhΓ³donΒ (AeolicΒ Ξ²ΟΟδον wrΓ³don), itself borrowed fromΒ Old Persianwrd-Β (wurdi), related toΒ AvestanvarΙΞ΄a,Β Sogdianward,Β ParthianwΓ’r.
HISTORY OF ROSES
- AΒ roseΒ is a woodyΒ perennial flowering plantΒ of theΒ genus Rosa, in the familyΒ Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundredΒ speciesΒ andΒ tens of thousandsΒ ofΒ cultivars. They form a group ofΒ plantsΒ that can be erectΒ shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharpΒ prickles.
- FlowersΒ vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native toΒ Asia, with smaller numbers native toΒ Europe,Β North America, and northwesternΒ Africa.
BREAKING IT DOWN
- Species,Β cultivarsΒ &Β hybridsΒ are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range ofΒ garden roses.
- TheΒ flowersΒ of most species have five petals, with the exception ofΒ Rosa sericea, which usually has only four. EachΒ petalΒ is divided into two distinct lobes and is usually white or pink, though in a few species yellow or red.
- Beneath the petals are fiveΒ sepalsΒ (or in the case of someΒ Rosa sericea, four). These may be long enough to be visible when viewed from above and appear as green points alternating with the rounded petals. There are multipleΒ superiorΒ ovaries that develop intoΒ achenes.Β Roses are insect-pollinated in nature.
PERFUME & BEAUTY
- Rose perfumes are made fromΒ rose oilΒ (also called attar of roses), which is a mixture of volatileΒ essential oilsΒ obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. An associated product isΒ rose waterΒ which is used for cooking, cosmetics, medicine and religious practices. The production technique originated inΒ PersiaΒ and then spread throughΒ ArabiaΒ andΒ India, and more recently into eastern Europe. InΒ Bulgaria, Iran and Germany, damask roses (RosaΒ ΓΒ damascenaΒ ‘Trigintipetala’) are used. In other parts of the worldΒ RosaΒ ΓΒ centifoliaΒ is commonly used.
- The oil is transparent pale yellow or yellow-grey in color. ‘Rose Absolute’ is solvent-extracted with hexane and produces a darker oil, dark yellow to orange in color. The weight of oil extracted is about one three-thousandth to one six-thousandth of the weight of the flowers; for example, about two thousand flowers are required to produce one gram of oil.
- The main constituents of attar of roses are the fragrantΒ alcoholsΒ geraniolΒ and L-citronellolΒ and rose camphor, an odorless solid composed ofΒ alkanes, which separates from rose oil. Ξ²-DamascenoneΒ is also a significant contributor to the scent.
FOOD & DRINK
- Rosa caninaΒ hips
- Rose hipsΒ are occasionally made intoΒ jam,Β jelly,Β marmalade, andΒ soupΒ or are brewed for tea, primarily for their highΒ vitamin CΒ content. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used to produceΒ rose hip seed oil, which is used in skin products and some makeup products.
- Rose waterΒ has a very distinctive flavour and is used inΒ Middle Eastern,Β Persian, andΒ South Asian cuisineβespecially in sweets such asΒ Turkish delight,Β barfi,Β baklava,Β halva,Β gulab jamun,Β kanafeh, andΒ nougat. Petals or flower buds are sometimes used to flavour ordinaryΒ tea, or combined with otherΒ herbsΒ to makeΒ herbal teas. A sweet preserve of rose petals calledΒ GulkandΒ is common in theΒ Indian Subcontinent.
- In France, there is much use ofΒ rose syrup, most commonly made from an extract of rose petals. In theΒ Indian subcontinent,Β Rooh Afza, a concentratedΒ squashΒ made with roses, is popular, as are rose-flavoured frozen desserts such asΒ ice creamΒ andΒ kulfi.
- Rose flowers are used as food, also usually as flavouring or to add their scent to food. Other minor uses include candied rose petals.
- Rose creams (rose-flavouredΒ fondantΒ covered inΒ chocolate, often topped with a crystallised rose petal) are a traditional English confectionery widely available from numerous producers in the UK.
Check out this scene from one of my favorite foreign Films Como agua para chocolateΒ (1992) Like Water for Chocolate
Medicine
- TheΒ rose hip, usually fromΒ R. canina, is used as a minor source ofΒ vitamin C. The fruits of many species have significant levels of vitamins and have been used as a food supplement. Many roses have been used in herbal and folk medicines.Β
- Rosa chinensisΒ has long been used in Chinese traditional medicine. This and other species have been used for stomach problems, and are being investigated for controlling cancer growth.
- In pre-modern medicine,Β diarrhodonΒ (Gr διάΟΟοδον, “compound of roses”, from αΏ₯ΟΞ΄ΟΞ½, “of roses”) is a name given to various compounds in which red roses are an ingredient.
Purchase these Rainbow Roses HERE