Africa

Dried Rose Petals

Rosa × damascena and related cultivars.

Petal.

Part Used

Dried, whole or crushed.

Form

Ward (Arabic).

Morocco (especially the Dades Valley/Kelaat M'Gouna), Tunisia.

Delicately floral, slightly sweet, faintly tannic when steeped strongly.

Aromatic component of ras el hanout; garnish for tagines and pastries; rosewater production.

Ras el hanout–spiced tagines; Moroccan pastries; mint tea variations.

Cinnamon, cardamom, orange blossom, almonds.

Add toward the end of cooking or as garnish – prolonged heat dulls the floral top notes.

Keep sealed, dark, and dry; loses fragrance within a year.

A few drops of rosewater can stand in where dried petals are unavailable.

Morocco's Dades Valley hosts an annual rose festival celebrating the Damask rose harvest used in this trade.

Ras el hanout.