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 Rosรฉย challenge to find the best Rosรฉ 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 โ William Shakespeareโs playย Romeo and Juliet
The nameย roseย comes from Latinย rosa, which was perhaps borrowed fromย Oscan, fromย Greekย ฯฯฮดฮฟฮฝย rhรณdonย (Aeolicย ฮฒฯฯฮดฮฟฮฝย wrรณdon), itself borrowed fromย Old Persianwrd-ย (wurdi), related toย Avestanvarษฮดa,ย Sogdianward,ย Parthianwรขr.
HISTORY OF ROSES
- Aย roseย is a woodyย perennial flowering plantย of theย genus Rosa, in the familyย Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundredย speciesย andย tens of thousandsย ofย cultivars. They form a group ofย plantsย that can be erectย shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharpย prickles.
- Flowersย vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native toย Asia, with smaller numbers native toย Europe,ย North America, and northwesternย Africa.
BREAKING IT DOWN
- Species,ย cultivarsย &ย hybridsย 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 ofย garden roses.
- Theย flowersย of most species have five petals, with the exception ofย Rosa sericea, which usually has only four. Eachย petalย is divided into two distinct lobes and is usually white or pink, though in a few species yellow or red.
- Beneath the petals are fiveย sepalsย (or in the case of someย 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 multipleย superiorย ovaries that develop intoย achenes.ย Roses are insect-pollinated in nature.
PERFUME & BEAUTY
- Rose perfumes are made fromย rose oilย (also called attar of roses), which is a mixture of volatileย essential oilsย obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. An associated product isย rose waterย which is used for cooking, cosmetics, medicine and religious practices. The production technique originated inย Persiaย and then spread throughย Arabiaย andย India, and more recently into eastern Europe. Inย Bulgaria, Iran and Germany, damask roses (Rosaย รย damascenaย ‘Trigintipetala’) are used. In other parts of the worldย Rosaย รย centifoliaย 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 fragrantย alcoholsย geraniolย and L-citronellolย and rose camphor, an odorless solid composed ofย alkanes, which separates from rose oil. ฮฒ-Damascenoneย is also a significant contributor to the scent.
FOOD & DRINK
- Rosa caninaย hips
- Rose hipsย are occasionally made intoย jam,ย jelly,ย marmalade, andย soupย or are brewed for tea, primarily for their highย vitamin Cย content. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used to produceย rose hip seed oil, which is used in skin products and some makeup products.
- Rose waterย has a very distinctive flavour and is used inย Middle Eastern,ย Persian, andย South Asian cuisineโespecially in sweets such asย Turkish delight,ย barfi,ย baklava,ย halva,ย gulab jamun,ย kanafeh, andย nougat. Petals or flower buds are sometimes used to flavour ordinaryย tea, or combined with otherย herbsย to makeย herbal teas. A sweet preserve of rose petals calledย Gulkandย is common in theย Indian Subcontinent.
- In France, there is much use ofย rose syrup, most commonly made from an extract of rose petals. In theย Indian subcontinent,ย Rooh Afza, a concentratedย squashย made with roses, is popular, as are rose-flavoured frozen desserts such asย ice creamย andย 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-flavouredย fondantย covered inย 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 chocolateย (1992) Like Water for Chocolate
Medicine
- Theย rose hip, usually fromย R. canina, is used as a minor source ofย 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.ย
- Rosa chinensisย 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,ย diarrhodonย (Gr ฮดฮนฮฌฯฯฮฟฮดฮฟฮฝ, “compound of roses”, from แฟฅฯฮดฯฮฝ, “of roses”) is a name given to various compounds in which red roses are an ingredient.
Purchase these Rainbow Roses HERE