"A rose is a rose is a rose," said Gertrude Stein. William Wordsworth implored, "Change me, some God, into that breathing rose." And Sappho called rose the crowned king of flowers. Indeed, many poets and artists have been inspired by this lovely flower.
The legends about rose span history. Some say rose was created from a drop of sweat falling from the brow of Mohammad. Others attribute its creation to Bacchus, who covered a thorny bush with perfumed red flowers to show his love for a beautiful nymph. Cupid is said to have given the God of silence a rose to bribe him not to reveal the amours of Venus; the rose then became the emblem of silence. Lord Krishna’s favorite flower was rose, and Hindus still use it to wash their altars.
Amongst all the scents used in perfumery, rose is one of the oldest and best known. Ancient references to rose distillation are found in books by Charak and Susruta (Ayurveda sanhita). The Mughal Emperor Jahangir filled canals of his Palace Garden with distilled rose water, which was collected and called "Itr-e-Jahangiri."
Botanical Background
There are more than 5,000 varieties of roses known to botanists. Only a few of them are fragrant and the fragrance varies according to the plant variety. Most of the fragrant roses are hybrids and the fragrance referred to by perfumers as rose is found exclusively in the roses belonging to the group Cetifolia or family Roseaceae. Out of these only three are commercially exploited for the production of oil:
Rosa damascena: Also known as Pink Damask Rose, it is found wild in Syria, Morocco and Andalusia, and commercially cultivated in Bulgaria and Turkey. This variety contains relatively high amounts of volatile oil, which is light yellow, slightly greenish and is semisolid at room temperature. Its odor is powerful and characteristic of fresh roses, with a sweet, strong, honey-like flavor.
Rosa alba: Also known as the White Cottage Rose, this variety contains much less volatile oil and is of inferior quality compared to damask rose. However, it is resistant to unfavorable climatic conditions, making it preferred by farmers. It is also grown in Bulgaria.
Rosa centifolia(L): Also known as Light Pink Cabbage Rose, this variety, which is related to Rosa damascene, is grown primarily in the Grasse region of southern France. It is also grown in Morocco, where it is referred to as Rose de mai. It is difficult to distill oil from this variety using steam distillation, making solvent extraction the primary method used to prepare concrete and absolutes.
Application of Rose Oils
Rose oil adds beauty and depth to an odor blend. When solubility in dilute alcohol is important, rose oil is used. Rose absolute can be used only when high grade alcohol is used. It is very important in rose-jasmine complex found in fashion perfumes. Rose de mai is useful in rounding up sharp notes in synthetic compositions. It is useful to flavor certain tobacco, soft drinks and alcoholic liqueurs, and lends an interesting effect to fruit flavors such as apricot or raspberry.