Buying Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water

Guide

Orange blossom water is distilled from bitter-orange blossoms and is the more common of the two in Moroccan savoury-adjacent and sweet cooking; it scents pastries, almond fillings, milk-and-almond drinks, and even finds its way into some salads and tagines. Rose water, distilled from roses, is more purely for sweets and drinks. The key is to buy genuine distilled flower water, not a synthetic 'flavouring' or an essence diluted with alcohol — real distillates smell natural and rounded, while cheap synthetics smell harsh, chemical or soapy.

Read the label: you want a product that is simply distilled water of orange blossom or rose, ideally from a reputable Moroccan, Lebanese or Middle Eastern producer. In Morocco, the town of Kelaat M'Gouna in the Dades valley is famous for its roses and rose water, celebrated each spring at the rose festival. Good flower waters are inexpensive and a bottle lasts a long time, so there's little reason to buy the artificial kind.

Use these waters sparingly — they are potent, and too much turns a dish perfumed and soapy rather than delicately scented. Add a teaspoon at a time and taste; you can always add more. They go in at the end of cooking or into cold mixtures, since prolonged heat drives off their delicate aromatics. Keep bottles tightly closed in a cool, dark cupboard, and they last well; the aroma fades slowly over time once opened.