I’m just a girl who dreams about bees and honey.
Our garden is buzzing with bee visitors flocking to our cape honeysuckle, pollinating our roses, and nurturing our vegetable garden. While I’d love to add a hive to our backyard, between the quails, veggies, many pets, and young children, my partner, aka Killjoy McGuillicutty, insists we can’t have bees right now. And, unfortunately, our city doesn’t allow us to keep bees either.
A Sweet Solution
For now, I’m content with locally sourced honey. Fortunately, I have access to beautiful home-grown roses perfect for this delightful recipe. I cut my garden roses and enjoy them inside for a few days before using their petals to make rose infusions. Rose honey is an absolute delicacy, according to my kids. Their grandmother, an herbalist, introduced us to this recipe, and now we make several batches every spring using honey from the farmer’s market.
Health Benefits
In holistic and Ayurvedic communities, rose petal-infused honey is known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and heart-healthy properties, among many other benefits. While I’m not an expert, we love adding rose honey to our morning tea and toast. My littlest one used to call it “rose medicine.” Rose petals are entirely edible and add a layer of delicate complexity to the honey.
Preparation Tips
Before collecting petals, ensure your roses are grown without pesticides and thoroughly washed.
Supplies Needed
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Storage container for honey (we repurposed our old Baby Bullet jars, but glass receptacles are even better)
Ingredients
- Organic honey (preferred)
- Rose petals
Instructions
- Wash Your Fresh Rose Petals: I spray my petals with a vinegar wash and then rinse with cold water. You can also store the petals in the refrigerator if you can’t make the honey right away.
- Chop or Tear Your Rose Petals: The more petals, the better; you don’t need exact measurements.
- Mix Petals into Your Container of Honey: Store them for at least one week, shaking occasionally.
- Enjoy: Spread on toast, stir into tea, or enjoy straight out of the jar! The petals do not need to be strained out and are good to eat too.
Give It A Try!
Making rose petal-infused honey is a simple and rewarding way to enjoy the flavors and benefits of your garden. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out! We’d love it if you could tag @frontyardfarmschool on Instagram with a photo of your delicious creation!
