What to do with.... rosewater and orange blossom water
Julie Biuso
As early as the third century essences were made from rose petals using fairly crude methods. It wasn’t until the 10th century that Avicenna, an Arab physician of some clout, discovered how to extract the essential oil from the flowers, and invented rosewater proper.
Its popularity with food quickly spread throughout Europe and made its way into sweet and savoury dishes, many of which are still popular today.
Orange-blossom water is distilled from the fragrant blossoms of Seville oranges. Two species of orange – sweet and bitter – are native to China. The bitter orange was introduced to Spain by the Moors in the eighth century and planted in the beautiful courtyards of the Alhambra in Granada, and throughout the south of Spain. It became known as the Seville orange.
The orange is favoured for its fresh citrus scent more than its bitter fruit and its floral water is a popular flavouring in Persian and Arabic cooking.
Spain remains the sole grower of Seville oranges with Britain taking 90 percent of the crop for marmalade. The Seville is favoured over other citrus as it makes a fragrant marmalade with a good balance of sweetness and bitterness. The rest of the crop is used to make bitters for the liqueur industry, and for orange-blossom water.
Both these essences are sold in Middle Eastern stores and some specialty food stores. Rosewater sold in pharmacies is not suitable for cooking.
Uses and abuses
The trick with both essences is to use very little, to give the merest hint of fragrance. The result is an intriguing flavour. However, too much and it smells like a garden and is too overtly floral to enjoy with food. Both essences are interchangeable. Just remember that the orange-blossom water is the stronger of the two. One of the easiest ways to use them is to make a sugar syrup – as light or as sweet as you prefer – and to flavour it with orange-blossom water or rosewater. The syrup can be drizzled over fruit and pastries, or added to drinks.
Orange-Blossom Water
This enhances fruit, particularly apricots, figs, strawberries, rhubarb, pears, dates and bananas. Add a few drops to fruit salads, summer pudding, fruit pastries, stewed or poached fruit, fruit creams and fruit crêpes.
A few drops added to savoury dishes such as lamb with apricots and almonds, chicken with white wine and grapes, duck with cherries, and Persian or Arabic rice dishes, adds an irresistibly exotic touch.
Try adding half a teaspoon of orange- blossom water to salad dressings. This is intriguing with carrot salad, avocado and smoked fish and stir-fried peppers with ginger and chilli.
Rosewater
A few drops streaked through cream, crème fraîche, custards, creamed rice puddings, baked semolina sweetmeats, fruit fools, sugar syrups and fruit salads, add an element of surprise.
It’s divine incorporated into sweet Middle Eastern pastries, and a little swirled through Khoshaf, a salad of dried fruit, pistachio nuts and almonds, is heavenly.
It is much appreciated in halva (sweetmeat), Turkish delight, lassi (yoghurt drink) and baklava (layered pastry and nut sweetmeat). 
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