This is method 3 of my short series about how to make rosewater at home: This time I made ‘real’ rosewater – rosewater hydrosol (here you’ll find method 1 – heat infusion and method 2 – cold infusion). Rosewater is a by-product of the distillation of rose petals to make rose oil. My tutorial is for distilling rosewater without a still at home.

You’ll need:

• fresh, organic rose petals
• stainless steel pots and bowls in different sizes
• tap water or distilled water (I used tap water because it’s safe to drink where I live, and the water will turn into distilled water during the rose water distillation process)
• ice

Gather fresh, organic rose petals. Place a stainless steel pot upside down into a large pot, and place a small stainless steel bowl on top of it. Add the rose petals and enough water (approximately to the level of the upside down pot). Now place the lid upside down on the pot, and put the ice on top of it. I added some cold water, so that the ice had better contact with the lid, but that’s optional.

Now let it boil over low heat for one hour or longer (checking occasionally that there’s still enough water in the pot). The steam will rise, condense on the cold lid and drop into the small bowl: that’s the rose water hydrosol.

The rosewater is clear as water; and scents and tastes of roses, but less than store-bought rosewater which is sometimes distilled more than once. I liked this rosewater the most of all three methods I tried. I don’t know yet how long it’ll keep. I keep it in the fridge, and I think adding some alcohol would extend the shelf life of the rose hydrosol. Here I found hydrosol storage tips. I used the rosewater for homemade Edwardian cold cream.