R E C I P E S

Rose Ice

By Edward Behr

For this, you need highly scented roses — lots and lots of them, as luxurious and impossible as that may seem. Many different varieties qualify, such as the ancient Rosa gallica and its offspring the damask rose (itself centuries old), which have a perfumer’s focused aroma, or a rose with floral spice, such as the part-rugosa Thérèse Bugnet or the hybrid rugosa David Thompson. (I have a large bed of the last.) Be certain to pick the flowers early in the morning before the sun warms them and from branches held well off the ground, so they haven’t been splashed with dirt. Choose only flowers that are partly opened, in approximately tulip shape. Pull off the petals, and discard the bases. If you have no bed of roses to deplete, there are delicious rose syrups from which you can surely make an excellent if much more expensive rose ice. (A superb organic syrup from gallica roses comes from Azienda Agricola Magliano in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Tuscany. I haven’t experimented with proportions.) For thoughts on the texture of ices, see Melon Ice.

 

¾ cup (150 gr) sugar

3 cups (700 ml) water

enough highly scented roses, grown without toxic chemicals, to yield 2 lightly compressed cups (a 500-ml measure) of petals

¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice 

 

Boil the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, and take the pan from the heat. Wait 2 minutes, and then stir the petals into the hot liquid. Cover and leave to cool. The color will be a mere dull bluish red. Add the lemon juice, whose acidity will act on the anthocyanin pigments in the petals to create a powerful neon pink. Strain the petals from the syrup, pressing to extract all the liquid. For a smoother texture if you use an ice cream maker, put the syrup into a glass jar and chill it completely in the refrigerator, about 1 hour, followed by 5 to 10 minutes in the freezer.

Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker, following its instructions, or put it in a wide, shallow bowl in the freezer, breaking up the ice crystals thoroughly every 20 minutes with a fork, until the liquid has turned into a firm, coarse slush. If you don’t serve the ice immediately, keep it in the freezer, where it will continue to harden, and then before serving partly thaw it, breaking it up and mixing it to a firm slush. Serve in chilled bowls. Makes about 1 quart (1 liter).

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