Rose water (ماء الورد — ma' al-ward) and orange blossom water (ماء زهر البرتقال — ma' zahrat al-burtuqal) are the most widely used flavouring agents in Middle Eastern and North African confectionery — more foundational to the flavour profile of the Levant, Iran, Morocco, and Turkey than vanilla is to French pastry or matcha is to Japanese confectionery. Their production through steam distillation of fresh rose petals and fresh orange blossoms, respectively, was developed by Arab chemists during the Islamic Golden Age (8th–13th centuries CE). The distillation technique itself — the alembic still used to produce these waters — was one of the most significant technological developments in culinary and pharmaceutical history.
Rose water and orange blossom water are aromatic hydrosols — the water-soluble fraction of the steam distillation of plant material. They are not essential oils (which are the fat-soluble fraction — concentrated and used in drops, not tablespoons) but the water-phase carrying volatile aromatic compounds at a concentration low enough to be used in volume in cooking.
1. Add off the heat — the volatile aromatic compounds dissipate rapidly at high temperature. Rose and orange blossom are flavour-finishers, not base flavours. 2. Less is correct — for most preparations, the aroma should be perceptible but not identifiable by a casual taster. If a taster can immediately name "rose water," there is too much rose water. 3. Rose water and orange blossom are used together in some preparations (kunafa, baklava syrup, sharbat) and separately in others — they are not interchangeable. Orange blossom is lighter and more appropriate where rose would overwhelm; rose is more appropriate where a full floral weight is wanted.
Middle Eastern & Indian Confectionery Deep