[MR] Rosewater

[Olwen the Odd]

Found on a cooks email list, submitted by Master Huen and copied here 
because it was interesting:
------------------------------------------------------------>>

I discovered this news report on rosewater today, and wanted to share it 
with
all of you.

Huen

Sleepy Iranian Town Blooms for Rosewater Season

      Thu Jun 10, 8:07 AM ET

By Christian Oliver and Parinoosh Arami

QAMSAR, Iran (Reuters) - For most of the year Qamsar is a sleepy little 
town,
making a living from its walnut trees and the long-horned goats that live 
among
the crags of the Karkas mountains.

But for a few weeks in early summer, the Qamsaris are transformed into
alchemists, pouring rose petals into bubbling stills and perfuming the town 
with
their scent. It is rosewater season.


Qamsari rosewater is a source of national pride in Iran. Once a year a ton 
of
the fragrance is taken to Mecca to wash down the Kaaba, the focal point of
Muslim pilgrimage.


Visitors from across the Islamic Republic flood into the dusty town to pluck 
the
garish pink Mohammadi roses and stock up on rosewater, sold to them as a 
panacea
for ailments they never knew they had.


Retired engineer Jafar Ghodesh, on a day trip from Tehran, swears by it.


"I come every five years or so. It does you wonders," he explained, 
clutching a
couple of clinking carrier bags stuffed with bottles of Qamsar's leading
commodity.


Most Iranian flower pickers dry the rose petals as potpourri or to sprinkle 
on
yogurt.


"The roses from here, Markazi province, are just the best there are," said
Zohre, a young woman from Tehran, bruising a petal between her forefinger 
and
thumb.


SPOONFUL OF ROSEWATER


Iranian rosewater is a cheap food flavoring and curative.


Chefs sprinkle it over rice, and one of the country's favorite summer 
snacks,
faloudeh, is a noodle sorbet peppered with pistachio nuts and drenched in
glycerin rosewater.


Inside tents, foyers and shops the Qamsaris convince visitors that a 
spoonful of
rosewater will sort out their heart murmur and a splash on the hands will 
cure
their eczema.


Massoud Dadjou, managing director of a small family firm selling rosewater, 
said
about 20 percent of his produce was bought for religious ceremonies. "That's 
for
sprinkling on tombs mainly," he said.


Mosques have rosewater sprinklers, often of ornate metalwork, to combat 
musty
interiors on hot days.


Dadjou said he had branched out into new types of tonics.


Chicory water will fix sleeplessness and nervous disorders while fenugreek 
will
douse a fever. Caraway water is good for fortifying the red blood cells. Or 
so
say all the bottles.


HARD TO COMPETE

The business has problems, said Mohammad Reza Dadjou, Massoud's son. He said
that new technologies could extract 200 grams of essence from a ton of 
petals,
while small-time makers could extract only half of that.

"The market is not good because at some centers they add geranium essence as 
an
artificial scent," said Mohammad Reza, adding producers could sell
geranium-diluted rosewater for about nine dollars a bottle. The same amount 
of
pure rosewater would cost $20.

"Good rosewater reveals itself when used. With geranium essence, if you 
leave
the door open the scent disperses after a while. But the smell of fine 
rosewater
lingers even after washing the container," he said.

Father and son agreed their greatest challenge was trying to market their
product in a small town where trade was divided between dozens of small 
family
businesses.

The bigger enterprises in town buy up rosewater for export, competing with
Bulgaria, one of the world's leading producers of rose oil.

The Dadjous said a kilo of rose oil, the other product of the distillation
process, would sell for about $1,200 in Iran but fetch $6,000 to $7,000 in
European perfumeries.

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