Recipes and Uses
Clear Apple Jam - American Style4lbs of cooking apples3 1/2 cups of waterWhite or preserving sugar - or use scented sugarJuice of 2 lemons15 scented geranium leaves of your choice - nutmeg or rose are goodChop the apples roughly and discard the skin, pips and stalk. Place in a large saucepan with the water and simmer until soft. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin but do not squeeze the pulp through or the jam/jelly will go cloudy - this operation is slow and will take several hours but is worth it. Measure the resulting liquid into a preserving pan and for every 2 cups retained add 1 pound of sugar, add the lemon juice and the scented geranium leaves. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and then boil rapidly until you achieve a set. To test for a set, place a small amount on a teaspoon and push back with you little finger until it has a crumpled consistency. Setting takes about 10 minutes. Quickly remove the leaves and pour into clean sterile jars. Cover the jars whilst the mixture is hot and ensure a tight seal.
Rose WaterCombine 15 rose scented geraniums with 200ml of purified water and simmer for 15 minutesLeave to steep for 4 hours and remove the leavesAdd the infusion to 100ml of Pure Rose Water HydrolateStir in 3 drops of Rose geranium essential Oil and 1 teaspoon of Benzoin TinctureBottle and label.(The Benzoin Tincture acts as a preservative and may be omitted if you do not intend to keep the rose geranium water for an extended period.)
- Peas - mint, basil, fennel, salad burnet
- Potatoes - apple mint, dill, fennel, chives, parsley, rosemary
- Carrots - dill, thyme, lovage, parsley, fennel, mint
- Cabbage - caraway, dill, sage
- Beans - savory, parsley, fennel, lovage
- Onion - sage, thyme, garlic, lovage
- Mushrooms - hyssop, salad burnet, thyme, garlic
- Tomatoes - chives, basil, pot marigold, oregano, bay, coriander
- Apricot - hyssop, sweet cicely, dill, caraway, sunflower seeds
- Apple - sweet cicely, rosemary, ginger mint, scented geraniums, hyssop, lemon verbena, elderberry, caraway, coriander seeds
- Banana - ginger mint, clove pinks, sweet cicely, lemon geranium
- Gooseberries - elderflower, sweet cicely
- Melon - rosemary, ginger mint, rose, rose geranium
- Oranges - lavender, lemon geranium, lemon balm, ginger mint
- Peaches - rose geranium, clove pinks, lemon thyme
More Recipes
Rose Geranium Almond Cookies
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups granulated sugar (can use rose geranium or vanilla flavored sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground mace
1 cup butter (8 ounces)
1 whole egg
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon rose geranium oil concentrate (or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh leaves)
1½ cups finely ground, toasted almonds
2 teaspoons finely ground coriander seed
2 teaspoons minced orange peel
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine dry ingredients with a wire whisk; set aside. Cream butter and sugar together in mixer bowl until fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Add dry ingredients a little at a time, then water and almond extract. Stir in rose geranium oil concentrate or chopped leaves, toasted almonds, coriander seed and orange peel. Mix thoroughly. Roll into small balls (walnut size or smaller), then roll in sugar. Press flat with the bottom of a slightly dampened glass or "pounder." Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350°F until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Yield: 75 cookies
Variation: Substitute other nuts for almonds; vary the spice and citrus peel. Toasted pecans, pistachios or walnuts are equally delicious.
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection
Brown Butter Almond Torte with Rose Geranium
½ cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces toasted almonds, natural sliced, slivered or whole (unsalted)
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon firmly packed chopped fresh rose geranium leaves
6 egg whites, at room temperature
1/3 cup toasted sliced natural almonds
Fresh fruit
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch spring-form pan, or cake pan with removable bottom. Knock out excess flour and set aside pan.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat until golden. Cool to lukewarm; add vanilla extract. Set aside. In a food processor, grind almonds until very fine, along with flour, 2/3 cup of sugar and most of salt. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining sugar and salt, and continue beating until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into nut mixture. Add browned butter and chopped fresh rose geranium leaves, mixing well; spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and bake in the middle of oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool for 5 minutes in pan; run a knife around sides to release cake. Unlatch side and carefully remove cake from pan by inverting onto a serving plate. Serve at room temperature with fruit and warm custard or topping of choice.
Yield: 8-12 servings
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection
Lime Curd
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup butter, cut in small pieces
2 teaspoons finely chopped rose geranium leaves
1 tablespoon lime zest (no white pith)
Mix first five ingredients in electric blender or mixer until smooth. Transfer to a heavy
stainless or ceramic saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add chopped rose geranium leaves and lime zest.
You may also cook curd in a double boiler. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftover sauce and reheat in a double boiler to serve.
Fold whipped cream into curd to lighten for other purposes.
Yield: 2 cups
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection
Chocolate Rose-Scented Soufflé
'This recipe included rose water but the flavor was not strong enough. Rose syrup is good in this recipe, however cooking down fresh organic rose petals takes longer than the following simple syrup.'
To make rose geranium syrup, combine 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar and about 10 or 12 rose geranium leaves in a small saucepan, bruising the leaves against the side of the pan with a spoon. Place over moderate heat and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for at least 30 minutes. Remove the leaves and squeeze them into the syrup to extract their flavor. This syrup can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or frozen for up to 1 year. You can make other herb-flavored syrups in the same manner. Mint-scented geranium, orange mint, peppermint, spearmint, or anise hyssop would be good in this recipe; use about five 4- or 5-inch sprigs in place of the geranium leaves.
Serves 6 to 8
½ cup half-and-half cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
¼ cup sugar
2 pinches salt
5 extra-large eggs, separated
¼ cup rose or rose geranium syrup
Whipping cream
Organic rose geranium flowers, rose petals or candied rose petals
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 1-cup ramekins or custard cups and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Combine the cream, chocolate, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium low heat. Whisk the chocolate as it melts to make a smooth mixture. Remove from heat when the chocolate is completely melted.
Beat the 5 yolks, one at a time, into the chocolate mixture. Whisk the rose geranium syrup into the chocolate, 1 tablespoon at a time. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.
Whisk about a cup of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then pour the chocolate mixture into the whites and fold until just blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared dishes and bake in the lower half of the oven for 12 minutes, until they are set.
While the soufflés are cooking, whip about ½ cup whipping cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until almost stiff. Whisk in about 1 tablespoon rose syrup, taste; add a bit more if desired.
Remove the soufflés from the oven. Scatter a few fresh rose petals or rose geranium flowers over the soufflés if you have them, or garnish each soufflé with a candied rose petal. Serve the soufflés immediately and pass the whipping cream. (You have about 5 to 7 minutes to serve the soufflés before they start to deflate.)
If you have leftover soufflés, you can refrigerate them and eat them the next day. Their texture will be denser, but they are still tasty served at cool room temperature.
This recipe is excerpted from Not Just Desserts -- Sweet Herbal Recipes by Susan Belsinger, © 2005.
Pelargonium Liqueur
1 quart loosely packed Pelargonium leaves
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup water
1 liter vodka
Place Pelargonium leaves in a 2 quart jar — lemon-scented or rose-scented types work well. Prepare a syrup by heating and bringing to a boil 1½ cups of sugar in ¾ cup of water, and then allow it to cool to room temperature. Mix the sugar syrup with 1 liter of vodka and pour over the Pelargonium leaves. Place in a dark closet for at least 6 weeks, filter and put into a bottle for use. Will last for months if stored in a cool, dark place.
Recipe © Caroline Amidon and Joyce Brobst
Apple Rose Geranium Jelly
½ cup firmly packed fresh leaves and tender stems of rose geraniums
3 cups frozen apple juice, diluted according to directions, or canned/bottled juice
6 cups sugar
1 package powdered fruit pectin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Whole leaves to pack in finished jelly if desired
Combine fresh or dried rose geranium leaves and part of juice; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep at least 15 to 20 minutes. Strain and add remaining juice. If needed, add more juice to yield 3 cups. Place juice in a heavy, large saucepan over high heat; add powdered pectin and bring to a full rolling boil (cannot be stirred down). Add sugar, continue stirring and heat again to full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir and skim off foam quickly. Immediately pour jelly into sterilized containers; a whole leaf may be added, held down with a salad fork until jelly cools slightly. Seal with sterilized lids and process 5 minutes in hot water bath, according to jar manufacturer's instructions.
Use Rose Geranium Jelly as a filling for cake layers; soften and use as a glaze for cakes or sauce for fresh fruit; fill center of small cookies (patisseries) before baking; top cream cheese – spread sweet breads for tea sandwiches. It is excellent served as a condiment with poultry.
Yield: approximately 8 jars, ½ pint each
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces toasted almonds, natural sliced, slivered or whole (unsalted)
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon firmly packed chopped fresh rose geranium leaves
6 egg whites, at room temperature
1/3 cup toasted sliced natural almonds
Fresh fruit
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch spring-form pan, or cake pan with removable bottom. Knock out excess flour and set aside pan.
Yield: 8-12 servings
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup butter, cut in small pieces
2 teaspoons finely chopped rose geranium leaves
1 tablespoon lime zest (no white pith)
Mix first five ingredients in electric blender or mixer until smooth. Transfer to a heavy
stainless or ceramic saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add chopped rose geranium leaves and lime zest.
Yield: 2 cups
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
¼ cup sugar
2 pinches salt
5 extra-large eggs, separated
¼ cup rose or rose geranium syrup
Whipping cream
Organic rose geranium flowers, rose petals or candied rose petals
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 1-cup ramekins or custard cups and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup water
1 liter vodka
Place Pelargonium leaves in a 2 quart jar — lemon-scented or rose-scented types work well. Prepare a syrup by heating and bringing to a boil 1½ cups of sugar in ¾ cup of water, and then allow it to cool to room temperature. Mix the sugar syrup with 1 liter of vodka and pour over the Pelargonium leaves. Place in a dark closet for at least 6 weeks, filter and put into a bottle for use. Will last for months if stored in a cool, dark place.
Recipe © Caroline Amidon and Joyce Brobst
3 cups frozen apple juice, diluted according to directions, or canned/bottled juice
6 cups sugar
1 package powdered fruit pectin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Whole leaves to pack in finished jelly if desired
Combine fresh or dried rose geranium leaves and part of juice; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep at least 15 to 20 minutes. Strain and add remaining juice. If needed, add more juice to yield 3 cups. Place juice in a heavy, large saucepan over high heat; add powdered pectin and bring to a full rolling boil (cannot be stirred down). Add sugar, continue stirring and heat again to full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir and skim off foam quickly. Immediately pour jelly into sterilized containers; a whole leaf may be added, held down with a salad fork until jelly cools slightly. Seal with sterilized lids and process 5 minutes in hot water bath, according to jar manufacturer's instructions.
Recipe © Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, The Flavour Connection