Rose Lemonade Recipe

Sweltering summer days are upon us and although St Louis is humid and hot, the weather hasn't kept me indoors. While I lounge on the patio, watching the kids splash in the pool I love to have a crisp icy glass of lemonade by my side. Since my beautiful rose bush is in full bloom, I thought I'd make the most of the lovely pink blossoms with rose lemonade.

To Make Rose Water
You can purchase pre-made rose water in many health food stores but its so simple to make your own. I used 6 roses from my garden and pulled off all of the petals

Rinse the petals thoroughly and put them in a sauce pan with enough water to cover the petals

Bring to a boil until the roses lose their color. This only takes a few minutes

With a colander in a bowl, dump the petals and water in the colander, catching the rose water below

Pour your rose water into a glass or small bowl to chill while you make the lemonade. My rose water had some floaties in it from the petals so I ran it through a coffee filter into the glass to get any rose bits out

To Make Lemonade

combine 2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. This makes a syrup.

While the syrup is cooling, juice 4-6 lemons

In a pitcher, combine your syrup, lemon juice and 5 cups of cold water.  Next comes the rose water. Start with a few tablespoons and see how you like it. You can always add more. I ended up with about 1/8 cup of rose water in my pitcher plus some extra lemon juice because I like mine pretty tart.

Serve over ice and garnish with a lemon slice and rose bud

for lemonade

2 cups sugar

6 1/2 cups water

4-6 lemons, juiced (save some slices for garnish)

for rose water

6 roses

water to cover the petals in a sauce pan