Roses have been tried and tested as recipe ingredients for centuries. Rose-based food flavourings are easy to find if you want to buy them, but for the most part, like cheap perfumes, they are synthetically produced, and the taste tends to be one-dimensional. It is only by growing your own roses that you will discover the wide variety of rose fragrances. These range from spicy to sweet to fruity and create natural floral layers for more subtle and delicate uses in cookery.

No edible flower garden, however small, is complete without at least one scented rose: choose from a fragrant climber, a rambler, a shrub rose, a tea rose, a species or wild rose to fit your space. Look for those that flower repeatedly. Once established, they need little care other than some pruning in late autumn or early spring. Roses prefer some sun, but there are several varieties that will grow in shade, such as ‘Eustacia Vye’ or ‘Phyllis Bide’ and there are many that grow happily in pots and containers – ‘Noisette Blush’ is one of the best. If you intend to use the petals for decoration, then the bright pink flowers of ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and the velvety clarets of ‘Munstead Wood’ and ‘Darcy Bussell’ all retain their colour and hold up well to drying and crystallization.

There is rarely a rose that fails to thrive if it is correctly planted in the right place – ideally, seek advice from a specialist rose nursery before buying. You can plant roses supplied as ‘bare root’ in the autumn when they will have no flowers or foliage and are wrapped in paper (soak the roots for at least two hours before planting), or wait until spring and purchase in a pot ready to transfer into a container or directly into the ground. Add some mycorrhizal fungi to the planting hole and ensure that the graft union, which is the bump at the base of the main stem, is at soil level and not buried. If you develop problems with white or black fly, then wipe them away with a damp cloth. Remember, if you are going to eat your roses, it is important not to spray with any chemicals. If you see black spot or rust on any leaves then cut them off immediately.

Harvest your roses as you would for flower arranging. Regular picking and deadheading encourages new growth. Use the petals, buds or whole flower heads fresh or dried for garnishes and decoration or make your own syrups, waters and cordials for flavouring drinks and a range of sweet and savoury dishes.

Floral Syrups

To make a floral syrup, add a few handfuls of your chosen flowers to a saucepan of sugar syrup. Using strongly scented flowers will provide the best results. As a guide, these are the quantities you will need:

Elderflower syrup: 10 heads of elderflower for each cup of water
Violet syrup: 3 cups of sweet violet flowers for each cup of water
Lilac syrup: 2 cups of lilac florets for each cup of water
Rose syrup: 2 cups of rose petals for each cup of water
Lavender syrup: 45ml (3 tbsp) of lavender flowers for each cup of water

Flower syrups form the basis of many floral recipes. They are a way of bottling the fragrance of a flower – not unlike making perfume – and provide a means of converting the original scent into a taste. Rather than distilling the natural essential oils, which is done through steam extraction in the production of perfume, it is possible to capture the scent by steeping flowers in warm water and preserving it by adding sugar. If possible, pick flowers at their headiest when they have had the warmth of the sun on them. Once bottled, flower syrups will keep for a year. 

1 Make your syrup using equal parts sugar and water (one cup of water and one cup of sugar), and bring to a simmer in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup starts to thicken.
2 Remove from the heat and add your flowers, making sure they are all covered in the syrup. Allow to cool overnight.
3 Decant into sterilised bottles or jars (see below) and seal.
4 Strain if you want a clear-coloured syrup or leave in some petals for a pretty effect. Label and store in a cool, dark place.
5 Once open, keep refrigerated. Use within a week.

A note on sterilising jars

Glass jars and bottles can be sterilised in a dishwasher. Remove rubber seals and lids, place on the top rack and run on a hot wash. Do not use any detergent. Time the cycle to finish when you are ready to fill your jars. You can also place empty jars with no lids or seals in a microwave. Wash in clean soapy water, put wet jars in the microwave and cook on high for 60 seconds. Or put clean wet jars in a preheated over at 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 for about 15 minutes.

• This is an edited extract from A Floral Feast by Carolyn Dunster, published by Gemini Books at £22.
• Read our interview with Carolyn Dunster, Botanical Stylist and Author.

Lead picture credit: Joanna Yee