If you've always considered rose water to be one of those fancy, exotic ingredients that you can only buy at the gourmet market, think again. It's shockingly easy to make, but like lavender, the rose buds have to be dried. If you're making rose water to cook with, choose edible dried rose buds to work with so the perfumey flavor won't be overpowering.
Measure 1/4 cup rose buds, add them to a tea infuser, plop it into 1 1/2 cups cold water in a sauce pot, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the color of the rose buds fade. Turn off heat, but keep it covered and let it cool completely. Take the infuser out and pour the liquid into a mason jar or bottle of your choice, and you're good to go! Your rose water will last about a week unrefrigerated and several weeks refrigerated.
