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Types of Edible Roses (and How to Use Them)

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We all know that Roses consistently top the list of the most popular flowers in the world. They can be seen during weddings, birthdays, and other special occasions.

Aside from their beauty, fragrance, and elegance, Roses can also be incorporated into your foods.

What Do Roses Taste Like?

English fresh rose with water on the petals

Roses taste pretty much like how they smell – delicate.

This flower offers a pleasantly sweet taste with a little bit of fruity or minty flavor, sometimes resembling the flavor of green apples and sometimes, strawberries. 

Its soft and aromatic scent makes it a good addition to your meals! Not only that, their beautiful colors can bring life to your dishes, making your family always excited to eat.

Keep in mind that the darker the color of the rose, the stronger the taste. 

Roses lack five types of taste – sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory. Some of the “flavor” that you can “taste” comes from its aroma. That said, you may need to add more flavors to make your experience wonderful.

Roses can be incorporated into your salads, granolas, punches, ice creams, and other desserts! Its petals can be added to your homemade syrups, spreads, or jellies. 

Are Roses Safe to Eat? Can Eating Rose Petals Kill You?

All varieties of roses are edible – take note, there are over 150 of them!

Homegrown roses are much safer to eat since you personally took care of them and you know that they haven’t been sprayed with toxic insecticides.

What Parts of a Rose Are Safe to Eat?

Curly endive salad with rose petal

1.) Petals – Perhaps the most popular part of the rose being used for consumption is its petals. Petals can be added to your salad, or as a garnish to your ice cream and desserts. In Greece, the petals are chopped and added in honey to be used as a spread. For a sweet dish, it can also be candied.

2.) Leaves – The rose leaves are safe to eat. While they cannot be used in salads, they are best used in herbal tea mix.

3.) Buds – Rose buds are fragrant and filled with rose flavors. Before the bud fully opens, harvest it and let it dry indoors for about a month. Store them in jars and use an additional flavor for your tea. 

4.) Hips – The rose hip is favored by rose enthusiasts because of its health benefits, as well as its tangy apricot taste. Rose hips have more Vitamin C than the orange, and are considered as a false succulent fruit – meaning, the edible part is not from the ovary wall.

The rose hip differs in size, flavor, and color depending on the rose variety. A fully ripe rose hip can be any hue from orange to red.

It can be used in a variety of dishes, such as jams, sauce, puddings, and teas. While they can be eaten fresh, it is better to incorporate them into the mentioned dishes.

First-time eaters with food allergies should only eat a small portion first to ensure the roses won’t trigger their allergies.

Also, don’t forget not to consume roses that aren’t grown for consumption. They may be contaminated with pesticides that are harmful when ingested by humans.

What Are The Benefits of Eating Rose Petals?

When it comes to nutrition, rose petals do not have a lot to offer.

They are 95% water and have a low calorie count, though they still contain a little amount of Vitamin C. Despite this, roses greatly help in enhancing aroma and adding floral taste to any culinary dish.

Rose and petal

They are also used to cure digestive orders, injuries, and irregular menstruation in ancient Chinese medicine. Some research also shows that they are used to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety.

Indeed, rose petals are not just for props and garnishes, they have some advantages as well.

7 Types of Edible Roses

By now, you know that all roses are edible. However, I also mentioned that their flavors vary. Below are the seven most popular edible roses:

1.) Blanc Double de Coubert

This pure white with semi-double flower rose variety with intense aroma blooms from summer to fall.

It grows up to five feet tall and has big orange-red hips. Known for its aromatic scent, the Blanc Double de Coubert’s hips can be added to your tea for a rich Vitamin C drink, or on your jam and jellies. 

2.) Lady of Shalott

Lady of Shalott

This edible rose is good for first-time rose gardeners.

It’s a hardy, disease-resistant rose that grows well even in poor soils. With its apricot-yellow flower and spiced apple and clove scent, the Lady of Shalott is good for making teas. This variety blooms throughout the season.

3.) Teasing Georgia

The Teasing Georgia is a climbing, beautiful, yellow rose.

Its rosette-shaped flowers definitely add up to its beauty. This rose is very healthy with an average to strong tea rose scent.

4.) Golden Celebration

The Golden Celebration rose has rich golden-yellow flowers and is one of the largest-flower in all of David Austin’s English Roses – a well-known Rose breeder.

While they primarily have a tea scent, the Golden Celebration also develops a scent of Sauternes wine combined with strawberry.

5.) Crown Princess Margareta

Crown Princess Margareta

This rose variety has apricot-orange-colored large flowers.

It is a climbing rose and has an intense, fruity scent under the tea rose type.

6.) Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas has a rich yellow color with average-sized cupped flowers.

The presence of medium to strong fresh tea rose aroma is pronounced. It is a repeat flowering variety that blooms from early summer and beyond. 

Graham Thomas Rose

7.) Jubilee Celebration

Named after Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee, this large rose variety has a rich pink color with hints of gold.

A young flower has a pure lemon zest scent. When fully matured, it will develop a fruity rose with a bit of fresh lemon and raspberry scent. 

A tip to remember is that when a rose smells fragrant, it’ll probably taste good as well.

7 Tips for Preparing Roses to be Eaten

While all roses are edible, there are some things you should keep in mind to create a safe and palatable dish for you and your family.

Harvesting a handful of rose petals
  • It is best to eat homegrown roses to make sure that they’re not sprayed with chemicals and pesticides. Start with roses that are low-maintenance and easy to grow, such as the old-fashioned heirloom roses.
  • Several Rose enthusiasts add banana peels to their rose plants to provide phosphorus which promotes flowering. To do this, simply chop banana peels and dig carefully around your rose plant. Bury the peels at around 4 inches deep. Or, you can also add water and crush the peels to a blender. Let it sit for 15 minutes and then put directly into the soil.
  • Aside from banana peels, Alfalfa also gives nutrition to your roses, such as calcium, iron, nitrogen, phosphorus, and fatty acids which is known to promote plant growth. To do this, put Alfalfa pellets or meals into the soil around your rose plants.
  • Choose roses according to your preferred scent. When harvesting roses, you can see a white area at the base of the petal – avoid that since it tastes bitter and it may ruin your dish.
  • The recommended time to harvest is during mid-morning. Wash it clean and dry with a damp towel. If you’re not going to cook it right away, store the harvested roses in the refrigerator so they can last up to a week without wilting. If your recipe calls for a dried rose, simply use a dehydrator, or let them dry in the sun then store them in a jar. 
  • It is not suggested to buy and eat roses from the florist. Yes, they are beautiful but they may contain lots of chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides that are not safe to consume. 
  • Look for edible roses in the produce section, again, not in the florist section. Or, if you don’t have available edible roses in your area, you can also order them online. Look for online shops that ship overnight so you can get your roses as fresh as possible.

Final Thoughts

Adding roses to your kitchen can bring new life to your dishes. Not only that, it can also provide you with plenty of health benefits as mentioned above.

Just keep in mind that there are appropriate processes for how to incorporate roses into your dishes. Knowing all those things will help you take your homemade dishes to the next level!

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