Roses — for a Valentine’s Day You’ll Love

Love is in the air. . . and rose sales are surging.  It must be Valentine’s Day.  Last  Valentine’s Day, we spent $23 billion on roses alone. And they say Americans aren’t romantic.  Keep the love and the roses going with my creamy rose-scented pudding. It’s easy to make, perfect for Valentine’s Day and cheaper than a dozen roses.  All it takes is a little splash of rosewater.

This rosewater pudding dates back centuries and versions are still enjoyed all across the Middle East, Turkey and India. It’s called malabi, or depending where you are, muhallabi. It’s traditionally milk-based. My recipe uses plantbased milk, which makes it vegan and keeps it creamy. Rosewater adds a haunting fragrance and flavor.  Spoon some up for you and your sweetie and be wafted away to somewhere romantic. 

Jump to the recipe or stick around for malabi tips and tricks

How to make: 

1. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and rice flour. 
2. Add 1/2 cup of the oat or almond milk, and stir until the milk thickens and everything comes together without cornstarch clumps.
3. In a large pot, heat remaining plantbased milk over medium-high heat and bring to a low boil. 
4. Pour in the cornstarch-thickened milk and stir like your Valentine’s Day depends on it. 
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring constantly for 15 to 20 minutes to avoid nasty clumps. The mixture will thicken. 
6. When it’s thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, pour in sugar and rosewater.
7. Cook another minute or so, stirring so the sugar dissolves.
8. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 
9. Pour into a large serving bowl or individual cups. 
10. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours before serving.
11. Garnish with rose petals and chopped pistachios — so romantic.

Cornstarch can be fussy to work with.  It can thicken like a dream, or it can clump and form clods.  Go for creamy and dreamy.  The secret to success is slurry — creating a creamy sauce of cornstarch and a little liquid.  For the pudding, stir together the cornstarch and a half-cup of of oat or almond milk.  It’ll thicken almost instantly.  Once it’s smooth, stir the slurry into the pot of the heated plantbased milk.  Stir and stir; let it simmer but don’t let it boil.  Cornstarch can turn fickle at high heat, and that’s what causes the clumps. 

Rosewater versus rose extract — both impart a bouquet of floral notes to dishes, but rose extract is far more concentrated.  You’ll need only a teaspoon of rose extract to make malabi bloom. Rosewater is what it sounds, rose-infused water, usually achieved by steaming the rose petals, so they release their essential oil. Rose extract, like vanilla extract, starts with a neutral-flavored alcohol base, like vodka or grain alcohol.  Fresh or dried roses are added and left to infuse.  Alcohol is a dehydrator, so it sucks out all the rosey goodness, leaving you with an intensely rose tincture.  Both rosewater and rose extract are available in Middle Eastern and other specialty markets and online.

The connection between love and roses dates back to ancient Greece.  In myth, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love had such power of love, she could turn a white rose red.  Neat trick.

Cleopatra, it is said, doused the sails of her ships with rosewater so “the very winds were lovesick,” as Shakespeare wrote.

In Morocco, hosts scatter rose petals on the table as a welcome to dinner guests. 

Rose and cornstarch also come together for lokum — Turkish delight.

Roses once perfumed desserts and even savory dishes throughout Europe, England and America. They were cheaper than vanilla (still are, actually) and easier to come by.  

Who doesn’t love roses?  But if you don’t love their floral taste, substitute Amaretto for the rosewater or almond extract for the rose extract. Still a haunting low note, different flavor. And then you can add the other Valentine’s Day favorite — chocolate. Almond and chocolate love each other.

More rose recipes and other Valentine’s Day sweets to love 

• Mexican chocolate love bites
• Red Velvet Cake (chocolate beet cake), just demoed — and devoured! — during my Roots cooking class last week.
• Litchi Rose Panna Cotta
• Apple date and rose tarts from Tori Avey  
• Rose Cardamom Chocolate Cheesecake
• Chocolate fans, here’s one you’ll love — vegan pastry queen Fran Costigan has collected a round-up of her Valentine’s Day bests
• Sticky Fingers pastry star Doron Petersan shares her vegan chocolate raspberry dessert that “screams love right in your face.”  Well, then.