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Title: Rose Beads -- a Fragrant Craft
Categories: Crafts Herb
Yield: 1 Necklace
| 3 | qt | Rose petals; clean |
| lg | Stainless steel pot | |
| Water | ||
| Blender or food processor | ||
| Jelly bag or cheesecloth | ||
| Iron pot or skillet | ||
| Rubber gloves | ||
| Tray | ||
| Newspapers | ||
| Paper towels | ||
| Rose essence | ||
| Plastic containers w/ tight | ||
| . fitting lids | ||
| 1/2 | ts | Measure |
| Butter paddles (opt) | ||
| 1/16 | Inch brass wire; cut into | |
| . 12-inch lengths | ||
| Empty small box or styrofoam | ||
| . tray | ||
| Glass jars w/ lids | ||
| Fine sandpaper | ||
| Unwaxed dental floss | ||
| Assortment of other beads, | ||
| . if desired. |
** Making the Mash **
Place the rose petals in the stainless-steel pot with water to cover, about 1 quart. Bring the contents to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly for 2 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally. You can cook the petals all day or cook them for a while one day, turn off the heat, and finish up the next day. The longer you cook the petals, the more the cellulose breaks down and the easier the job of pureeing the mash.
In the blender or food processor, puree the cooled mash in batches. Add just enough extra water to each batch to enable the machine to puree it thoroughly at the highest speed. The finer the mash, the smoother and more uniform the bead. Drain the mash through the jelly bag or cheesecloth to remove any excess water.
** Slow Cooking **
Place the drained, pureed mash into the iron pot or skillet. When the mash is cooked in iron, a chemical reaction of the acid in the petals with the iron turns it black. (Once the mash turns black, it badly stains whatever it touches, so wear rubber gloves and old clothes when working with it.) Because the mash will remove the patina from an iron pot, you may want to use an old one and reserve it for bead making. Cook the mash, covered, over the lowest heat possible, stirring occasionally, for 2 or 3 days, or until it is black and about the consistency of soft cream cheese. You can cook it for a few hours, turn it off, and finish cooking it later. Keep it covered to prevent a crust from forming. The mash can also be baked, covered, at 250øF for 1 to 2 days.
** Cooling & Draining **
Layer the tray thickly with newspapers and cover with a layer of paper towels. (The mash will stick to newspaper, but not to paper towels.) Turn the mash out to cool on the prepared tray, and cover it with another layer of paper towels. Let it drain. Change the newspaper padding when the mash has soaked through; this can take a few hours or overnight and may need to be done two or three times. Add a few drops of rose essence to the mash -- 6 or 7 drops to 1 cup of mash -- and knead it in.
You can make beads now or store the mash. To store, pack the mash into plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and refrigerate for as long as a week or freeze for a few months. The mash can be thawed and refrozen as necessary.
** Rolling **
For each bead, measure out a slightly rounded 1/2 teaspoon of mash; the bead will shrink to about one-third its original size as it dries. Wearing gloves, knead each piece of mash in the palm of your hand to make sure it is smooth (remove any thorns or debris). With firm, even pressure, roll each bead between your palms until it is round. If the beads show any cracks while you're rolling, dip the beads in a little water or rubbing alcohol and smooth them out, as the cracks will become bigger as the beads dry. Our group adds a textured pattern to the beads by gently but firmly rolling them between two textured butter paddles.
To be continued in Part 2 ** The Herb Companion -- Jun/Jul 96 **
Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- paul macGregor
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