Rhodomeli
(Rose Honey)

Origin: Roman      Period: Traditional

Original Recipe

Rhodomeli (from Bassus' Geoponica)

Cassianus Bassus was a seventh century author who wrote the Geoponica (Country Matters) Bassus drew heavily on the work on another agricultural compiler, Vindonius Anatolius (4th century) and the ultimate sources of the Geoponica include Pliny, various lost Hellenistic and Roman-period Greek agriculture and veterinary authors, the Carthaginian agronomist Mago, and even works passing under the name of the Persian prophet Zoroaster. During the 10th century Bassus' Geoponica was included into another work (also called the Geoponica which was compiled for the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. As a result there has been considerable confusion as to what Cassianus Basssus wrote and what he did not. The recipe given below is derived from Bassus' original work and not the later volume often mis-attributed to him.

Translation

Recipe for rose honey: fine roses, wild ones if possible. Cut away the white part at the end of the rose petals, squeeze them in a press and take two pints of the juice and one pint of honey. Skim off the froth on the honey, add the honey to the rose juice and put in a storage jar; stir vigourously and store away in a place that is not damp.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients

250g honey
2l rose water

Method:

Take 2l of rose water (this can be bought in health food shops or made by collecting a large bowl of rose petals, adding boiling water so that it just covers the flowers and stirring in 1–2 tablespoons of sugar) and stirring-in 250g of runny honey. Mix well and place in a storage jar or bottle (this can be made in summer and if the bottle is stoppered well enough will keep for several months in a cool dry place. In addition to being a refreshing scented drink this can also be used as an ingredient in making cakes or biscuits.

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