The only problem that I've heard is "don't use if they have been sprayed or a systemic pesticide has been applied". I remember some other post where there was some discussion on certain roses tasted better than others but can't remeber which ones.

I am not so ambitious a cook, but I have eaten things prepared by others.

Some roses taste better than others, so I would experiment. Some are right unpleasant.

Also, remove that little white "pip" where the petal attaches to the rose. That is bitter.

I had a lovely white angel cake with a rose petal frosting which was almost illegally wonderful. I am also assured that some petals are wonderful in salads.

Jeri

Thanks! I'll try and remove the pip thingy! My daughter make a Persian Love Cake that is amazing, but we have to hunt all over New York City to find the candied petals

Whether or not you have to bother cutting pieces from the petals seems to depend on the type of rose. We don't usually bother because the species and near-species we grow are fairly uniformly tender.

Last year I made rose petal jam from a recipe posted here. It was extremely good, and possibly the easiest jam I've ever made. All I had to do to prepare the 'fruit' was pull the petals from the roses and rinse them.

Can we have the recipe for the Persian Love Cake? Please.

FJ

I think my daughter found the recipe on line. She's away at college. I will try to get it for you. I have also been looking for Rose Saffron Ice cream recipes. I have a student who makes it but he refuses to share his recipe! He is a chef.
Here, I think this is the one she used:

Makes 8 servings
This chiffon cake filled with rose-scented whipped cream is inspired by the aromatics found in Persian, Turkish, and Indian confections.

ingredients

Candied rose petals
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
Petals from 2 organic roses

Cake
1 cup cake flour
14 tablespoons baker's sugar or superfine sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons water
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds (removed from about 5 green cardamom pods)

Frosting
2 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
Pinch of saffron threads

2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon rose water

2 tablespoons natural unsalted pistachios

preparation

For candied rose petals:
Whisk egg whites in small bowl until foamy. Using pastry brush, brush rose petals on both sides with egg whites; sprinkle on both sides with sugar. Dry on nonstick rack at least 6 hours or overnight.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper; butter parchment. Sift flour, 7 tablespoons baker's sugar, baking powder, and salt into large bowl. Whisk yolks and next 4 ingredients in small bowl until smooth. Add yolk mixture to dry ingredients; whisk until smooth. Beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 7 tablespoons baker's sugar; beat until whites resemble thick marshmallow fluff. Fold whites into batter in 3 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until cakes are golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks, peel off parchment, and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)

For frosting:
Combine 1/2 cup cream and saffron in small saucepan. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 20 minutes. Chill until cold.

Beat remaining 2 cups cream, powdered sugar, and rose water in large bowl until soft peaks form; strain in saffron cream. Beat until peaks form.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Garnish cake with rose petals and pistachios.
Last summer we tried to do our own rose petals, but they were not as good as the commercial ones. don't know why. I'll try again this summer. My roses have many buds and one is blooming.

May we please have the recipe for Rose Petal Jam?

Thanks!
Audrey

Oh Anewgarden, Thank you for the recipe. I am so excited. Two of my closest friends are Near Asian. India, and Pakistan. Next time I make a cake to bring, I can surprise them with this. They serve a cold drink that is cherry like with rose water in it. You taste/smell all at once. I just planted a Bayse' Blueberry rose to grow for the hips and scent. I will have to try it's petals for flavor too.

Here is the link to the thread with the jam recipe. It's another discussion about eating roses, which is why I'm including the whole thing.

I made it with an end of season collection of gallicas and damasks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eating Roses thread

I don't eat my roses but one of my cats does! I've seen him munching away at the blooms on my groundcover roses. I think he started the habit by licking the water or dew from the blooms and then decided it was tasty enough to eat. It doesn't bother me - overall he does less damage than bugs or slugs.

One of my neighbors, las year, called me over to examine her garden. "Something is eating my roses!" she said. Errrr, yes. It's my cat. He's eating your roses. Fortunately she has a dog that poops in my back yard so we're calling it even.