Rose water Phoenicians considered large public rose gardens to be as important as croplands such as orchards and wheat fields. Rose perfumes are made from rose oil, also called "attar of roses", which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained by steam-distilling the crushed petals of roses. Rose water is a by-product of this process. The cultivation of various fragrant flowers for obtaining perfumes, including rose water, may date back to Sassanid Persia, where it was known as "golāb" (Middle Persian: گلاب), from "gul" (rose) and "ab" (water). The term was adopted into Byzantine Greek as "zoulápin". The process of creating
Orange flower water Orange flower water Orange flower water, or orange blossom water, is the clear, perfumed by-product of the distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms for their essential oil. This essential water has traditionally been used as an aromatizer in many Mediterranean traditional dessert dishes, such as in France for the gibassier and pompe à l'huile or in Spain for the Roscón de Reyes (King cake), or the Samsa in Tunisia or in Moroccan coffee, but has more recently found its way into other cuisines. For example, orange flower water is used in Europe to flavor madeleines, in Mexico to flavor little wedding