If you’ve recently purchased rose water for a recipe and have a bunch left over, you may be wondering how to use up your leftover rose water. First thing’s first! Store any open bottle of rose water in the fridge. The cold will help it retain its fragrance longer – although you may find it doesn’t last long once you put it to use using the list below!
Note: The uses described below are for rose water purchased for cooking – that is, rose water fit for human consumption. We don’t recommend cooking with rose water purchased for beauty or medicinal purposes, as it may have additives that are not fit for human consumption.
5 Uses for Leftover Rose Water
You can use rose water in a ton of different ways! Read on for five different ways to use leftover rose water in your personal care routine, for your home, and, of course, for cooking.
- Skincare routine. While you can buy beauty products that contain rose water or rose fragrance already, you can also use rose water on its own. Use some on a cotton pad as a toner or spritz some on your face as a quick pick-me-up. If you have a beard or mustache, you can comb rose water through your facial hair to freshen it up.
- House care routine. Put rose water into a spray bottle and spray it into the air to add a nice fragrance to your home.
- Greeting guests. Some people pour a bit of rose water into finger bowls filled with warm water for guests to clean their hands as they sit for a meal. It’s like using a hot towel or lemon water finger bowl prior to or after a meal.
- Flavoring: Add a splash of rose water to tea or water to jazz it up. Play around with the flavors! Rose-cucumber water, anyone?
- Cooking! Obviously, at Tacostan we like to use rose water in cooking, particularly with desserts and sweeter drinks. You can think about it as similar to flavoring foods with vanilla. If you’re using rose water in cooking, make sure to store it in the fridge so it maintains its fragrance. If you keep it in the fridge, it should be good for a while.
Check out these Tacostan recipes that use rose water!
Interested in learning about how rose water is made? See the companion post to this one – About Rose Water
Want to learn about other ingredients? Let us know what you’d like to learn about next!