TULLE METHOD:

1. make sure that the roses you use are fresh, organic and pesticide free
2. start by pulling the rose petals off of the stems by grabbing the petals with one hand & pulling the stems away from the petals with your other hand
3. once all of the petals have been removed from the stems, loosely pack them into a piece of tulle, gathering up the edges ( I used about 2 cups of petals per piece of tulle )
4. Place the petal filled tulle inside a large glass jar, allowing the edges of the tulle to overlap the opening of the jar by at least 2 inches & use a rubber band to secure the tulle to the jar opening – ensure that there is at least 2 inches of space between the bottom of the petal filled tulle and the bottom of the glass jar.
5. Secure the lid of the jar and leave in a place that will get the most direct sunlight possible ( we placed our jars on our rooftop ) otherwise, move them throughout the day so that they get as much sun as possible.
6. After 2 days, all of the petals should have turned light brown and the jars should be filled with condensation and a puddle of rosewater at the bottom.

GARLAND METHOD:

1. make sure that the roses you use are fresh, organic and pesticide free
2. start by pulling the rose petals off of the stems by grabbing the petals with one hand & pulling the stems away from the petals with your other hand
3. once all of the petals have been removed from the stems, use a needle and thread a top a soft pillow to pierce through the center of each petal, one by one, stringing them into a garland
4. thread garlands long enough to fill the vase leaving at least 2 inches of space between the bottom of the garland and the bottom of the glass jar.
5. Secure the ends of the garland with the lids of the glass jars, and leave in a place that will get the most direct sunlight possible ( we placed our jars on our rooftop ) otherwise, move them throughout the day so that they get as much sun as possible.
6. After 2 days, all of the petals should have turned light brown and the jars should be filled with condensation and a puddle of rosewater at the bottom.

COLLECTING & STORING THE ROSEWATER:

1. Gather your jars, remove the spent rose petals and gently swirl the jars to collect all of the condensation from the sides of the jars.
2. Once all of the rosewater has settled to the bottom of the jars, pour the rosewater through a very fine mesh sieve or dampened cheesecloth into a spouted bowl or measuring cup ( this filters any impurities from the rosewater )
3. Pour filtered rosewater into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator
4. Sun-distilled rosewater stored in the refrigerator should last up to one year
5. *Approximately 8 cups of loosely packed rose petals produced about 75ml (1/3 cup) of rosewater