Rose, Herb of the Year 2012

Mint and roses are a good flavor combination.

Imagine roses and mint together in a salad of fresh greens. Add some raspberries, feta or blue cheese crumbles, some pecans and balsamic dressing. Now there's a salad!

Roses, pecans, raspberries, make a very tasty salad.

 You can find lots of my rose recipes on the Herb of the Year blog. Try the recipes for Valentine's Day.

Flower market in New Delhi.

I visited a flower market in New Delhi. Notice the long-stemmed roses on the right. Their stems are so long (between 28 and 30 inches) they almost reach the guy's waist. My friend who was with me bought one of the bunches - they're bundled 100 to a bunch - for $1. The prices get cheaper the later it is in the morning. Still, think what those premium grade long-stemmed roses would sell for in the U.S. on Valentine's Day! Just remember, don't eat roses from a florist, they've been heavily sprayed several times with chemicals to get them to produce those beautiful flowers. But you don't want to eat those chemicals.

Long-stemmed roses in Acapulco, Mexico.

Above, long-stemmed roses in the produce market in Acapulco. Because it's a tourist area with lots of hotels and restaurants, the prices are higher than in India, but still way below the cost in the U.S.

But if you have non-sprayed, edible roses, this cake is delicious. You'll find it and other recipes by searching older posts on this blog. Or all of my recipes are available in my How to Eat a Rose book, from my website. And see my video on what roses are safe to eat, here.

Enjoy those roses!

See my video about which roses to eat and which ones you should avoid. (If the rose has been sprayed, or is from a florist shop, don't eat those; otherwise, all roses are edible).