This could be an easy, fun activity to do with the children when they are “bored” this summer.
With a delicate rose scent and sweetly spiced flavor, this sugar is good in hot tea - whether you mold it in shapes or leave as loose granulated sugar.
Utensils
- 1 Pint Glass or Mason jar with lid
- Colander or mesh strainer
- Candy Mold
Ingredients
- White granulated sugar
- Culinary grade rose petals (the more fragrant, the better)
- 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
- Water
- 1-2 drops red food coloring
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Pour a 1” layer of sugar into your jar, layer ½” of petals on top, then cover with another inch of sugar. Repeat until the jar is filled to about 1” from the top. Close the lid tightly. Let the jar sit (out of direct light) for at least one week for the rose petals to fully infuse the sugar. Shake the jar every day to help distribute the flavor.
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Strain the sugar through a colander or mesh strainer to remove the petals. (We had to do this step a couple of times.) Put into a small bowl, add 1 ¼ tablespoons water, the rose water and 2 drops of red coloring to the sugar and mix well - it should feel like wet sand.
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To mold the sugar into shapes, pack firmly into small molds (we found the metal molds worked better than the silicon.) Then gently turn the mold over a wax paper-covered wire rack. Tap each cell of the mold and gently lift to release the sugar forms. Allow to harden overnight.
In working with small children, we would recommend skipping the molds and just making loose sugar which could be placed in a pretty jelly jar tied with a ribbon to make a nice gift.
If you don’t have rose petals, try making using mint leaves instead and swap out the red coloring for green.