Rose petals are great for potpourri, but they’re also really good for flavouring food. Whatever you want them for, this post is all about how to dry rose petals in a dehydrator. There’s also a recipe for rhubarb compote flavoured with rose. Serve with rose cream for a simple but sophisticated dessert.
A rose by any other name would taste as sweet, to misquote Shakespeare. We have one rose bush in the garden, it’s in a shady spot and rarely produces more than two or three blooms. But what fabulous blooms they are. The rose is red with a heavy scent and it makes fantastic rose syrup. Now I have a dehydrator, I thought I’d have a go at drying rose petals this year.
When I’ve tried drying roses in the past, it’s been a bit hit and miss. They don’t always keep their colour and often go brown. They’re best dried in a dark and airy place, which I didn’t have – until recently.
The Optimum P200 dehydrator* not only keeps the contents in the dark, but it has a fan to keep the air circulating. You can see more about this handy piece of kit in this dehydrator review.
As the rose petals dried, the house was filled with the heady scent of high summer. CT thought it was like living in a Turkish Delight factory. When the roses had dried, not only had the colour not faded, but it had deepened quite considerably. I was surprised to find that despite losing much of the scent, the flavour was still prominent.
How to Dry Rose Petals
- Pick your rose when it’s just come into full bloom and is at its best – do make sure it has not been sprayed with any pesticides or other chemicals.
- Your rose needs to be dry when picked. Any damp is likely to make the petals rot and turn brown. Mid-morning is the optimum time when any dew has had a chance to evaporate, but before the scent dissipates.
- Pluck the petals carefully from the base of the rose.
- Lay the rose petals out in a singly layer on mesh trays, placing them well apart so the air can circulate freely.
- Put the trays in a dry, dark space which has plenty of air movement. A dehydrator is ideal for this. Leave for several hours, until the petals are crisp and have deepened in colour. I used my Optimum P200 dehydrator and put it on the lowest setting (35℃), the rose petals were ready after five hours.
- Place in an airtight glass jar and store in a cool dark cupboard.
- Ideal for decorating cakes and desserts, grinding into a powder to use as a flavouring or colouring or for making pot pourri.
What To Do With Dried Rose Petals
I ground a few of my rose petals into powder and blitzed the rest with some golden granulated sugar to make rose sugar. I used both the powder and the sugar to boost a couple of rhubarb recipes I was making. The flavour of rose combines incredibly well with tart rhubarb I’ve found.
The rose sugar added a touch of complexity and sophistication to this remarkable rhubarb cake and the rose powder gives a beautiful colour to the rhubarb and rose compote recipe below. I also scattered some of the powder over the accompanying rose cream.
Other Recipes with Dried Rose Petals You Might Like
- Pistachio, cardamom and rose financiers via Baking Queen 74
- Raw chocolates via Tin and Thyme
- Rose cupcakes via Tin and Thyme
- Orange and Rose Petal Biscuits via Green Gourmet Giraffe
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you dry your own rose petals or have a go at making this rhubarb compote or rose cream, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more rose flavoured recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Rhubarb and Rose Compote. PIN IT.
Rhubarb and Rose Compote with Rose Cream – The Recipe
Rhubarb and Rose Compote with Rose Cream
Ingredients
Rhubarb Compote
- 2-4 stick rhubarb cleaned and trimmed – number depends on how big they are
- 2 tbsp rose syrup or to taste (or 1 tbsp rose sugar)
- ¼ tsp rose powder
Rhubarb Cream
- 150 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 1 tbsp rose syrup
- 1 pinch rose powder
Instructions
Rhubarb and Rose Compote
- Cut the rhubarb into small batons, about 1 cm by 4 cm.
- Simmer the rhubarb in the rose syrup for 5 to 10 minutes or until just soft. If using rose sugar instead, you’ll need to add 1 tbsp of water. Add the rose powder a couple of minutes or so before the rhubarb’s finished cooking.
- Serve with a goodly dollop of rose cream.
Rose Cream
- Whip the cream and rose syrup in a bowl until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over whip.
- Spoon into a serving dish and dust with the rose powder.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
I’m a Froothie ambassador and this post contains affiliate links. Links are marked with an asterisk *. Buying through a link will not cost you any more, but I will get a small commission. This helps keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging. You can find out what other recipes I’ve made using Froothie equipment in my blender category. Opinions are, as always, my own.
Cathy @ Planet Veggie says
You’re being far more adventurous with your dehydrator than I am. I need to get out in the garden and see what I can find!
Choclette says
Hahaha Cathy, how you can say that I don’t know. Tofu and mushroom jerky sounds way off the scale in terms of adventure 😉
Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe says
Thanks for sharing my link – we have a few lovely rose bushes that my mum marvels over for how many roses they produce considering how little love they get – and there is something fancy about dried rose petals in food – which is perhaps why I haven’t used the ones I bought – not enough fancy cooking – the rose sugar looks great and dried rose petals look great on a cake
Choclette says
I’m quite envious of your roses Johanna. I’d love to have a garden where I could grow more of them. I’m astonished ours survives at all with virtually no sun all year round. Scattered over a cake, rose petals (dried or fresh) are just lovely.
Manjiri Chitnis says
Reminds me of a lovely recipe I would love to try, all I need is a dehydrator. Love how ur OH compared the aroma to a Turkish delight factory!
Choclette says
CT has a habit of coming out with odd things 😉 You are teasing me with your recipe Manjiri. Now I want to know what it is.
Sus // roughmeasures.com says
These dehydrators do sound like a good piece of kit! And Rose sugar?! Divine!
Choclette says
I’m loving the dehydrator Sus. I’ve got loads of plans, just need to get on with them!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
I think I need to get hold of the Froothie Dehydrator as I really really need to do something with all the roses out in abundance.
Choclette says
It’s a fabulous piece of kit, but you could always make my rose syrup instead 😉
Nayna Kanabar says
I use rose petals in a lot of my Indian sweets but I dry them in my airing cupboard.This recipe sounds really delicious.
Choclette says
Dried rose petals are wonderful aren’t they? An airing cupboard should be ideal. We don’t have one, so the dehydrator is perfect.
Natalie Tamara says
Such a beautiful dish, I’m imagining how wonderful your house must have smelled too.
Choclette says
It was amazing Natalie. I wasn’t really expecting the scent to waft around, so it was a very pleasant surprise.
Brandie says
That Rose is beautiful! I love rose bushes. Your recipe sounds really good and a great way to end or even start a meal. What is double cream? Is that like heavy cream? I wonder what to use to make it vegan?
Choclette says
Thanks Brandie. Yes double cream is what we English call heavy cream. You could make a fantastic cashew cream instead – it’s on my list 😉
Janice says
What beautiful photographs and I love the rose petal powder. I have still to decide what to do with my dehydrated rose petals, they are much lighter than yours as my rose is pink rather than red. Lovely idea to combine the roses and the rhubarb, a great combination.
Choclette says
Thank you Janice 🙂 Pink is such a pretty summery colour. Weren’t you going to scatter them over a cake?
Henk Kooiman says
All lovely, delicious and enticing ideas in this post ! I want a dehydrator too …
A few days ago I made your rhubarb cake again, with the addition of some rose jelly and a good quality rose water and this taste combination, with whipped cream, was divine !
Choclette says
Thank you Henk. I’m loving the dehydrator. Rhubarb and rose is one of my favourite summer combinations. Glad you enjoyed it too 🙂
Catherine says
Such a beautiful and elegant dessert~
Choclette says
Thank you Catherine. It tastes rather good too 😉
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
This is AWESOME, Choclette. I need to get my dehydrator out and make some too! That rhubarb compote and rose cream…simply heavenly!
Choclette says
Thanks Angie. It makes for a lovely light summer dessert. And oh yes, do get your dehydrator out. If I had more roses, I’d dry loads of them.