DIY Rosewater help!

[queenofheartz44]

Okay so at my dad's house there are 16 rosebushes between the front and the back of the house put there by the landlord. Awesome right? Well problem is I cannot seem to make rosewater to save my soul! I've tried now twice as per recipes and instead of them water and house coming out smelling like roses, it...almost vile. What on earth am I doing wrong?? The roses I gathered are the hybrid tea roses like these: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/168932/ and have a beautiful fragrance, at least until I try making the rose water. The recipe/tutorial I used is this one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT8T...25O9stamgTe4uW. Please help, I really want to get this down. Oh and it's a brownish color as well.

[Idjit]

All I can think of is if you used the first method without the bowl maybe you cooked it too long? I've made scented waters before with the floating bowl and upside down lid and it worked fine for me. That method seems more foolproof to me.

[jillosity]

If you have that many roses available to you, try infusing some in coconut oil too, just let the petals soak for 18-24 hours then strain well. Don't forget to squeeze them to get all the oil! Repeat the process a few times until the oil is as fragrant as you'd like, then you can use it for your hair, face, body, etc. Do a final strain through a coffee filter to get all the pollen and bits, it takes a while so be patient when you do that part. It's like a modern version of enfleurage 100% less lard

[furnival]

I couldn't see the first link, but in the second she is making a rose petal infusion in distilled water, not proper distilled rose water.
The method is basically the same, but in a different order:

-Pour couple of inches of (normal) water into large pan
-Add rose petals
-Float bowl on top (make sure bowl is large enough not to float around and miss the drips from the centre, and small enough to allow the steam to escape around its rim)
-Place inverted lid on pan
-Slowly bring to a gentle simmer
-Place ice on lid top to aid condensation
-Distilled rose water collects in bowl.
Don't simmer for too long as the rose water will become gradually more diluted.

Hope that helps!

[FancyCatRachel]

Are the roses organic without ANY chemicals and pesticides?

[queenofheartz44]

Are the roses organic without ANY chemicals and pesticides?

I believe so. We haven't bought any pesticides or anything like that, they get watered and just grow like mad.

[Firefox7275]

Have you say I wouldn't fancy risking insect poop in my hair.