Recipe

Rose Heart Bead Favor Recipe

	Deliathecrone / All my dishes 1 year, 6 months ago I made these for favors at a bridal shower, one bead on a red string for each lady. The bride wore her heart bead bracelet at her wedding, which helped bring scent to the ceremony, since all her floral arrangements were done in silk flowers, and sinc... More Prep:20m Cook:4m Servings:1	Deliathecro
	timeconsuming fun

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Ingredients

Equipment:

electric blender or a ceramic mortar and pestle

saucepan (preferably glass, enameled, or-to make black beads-cast iron)

wooden spoon

No. 1 or 2 knitting needle or a similar sharp, pointed object with which to make a hole through each bead.

Heart-shaped candy mold (Large hearts)

Materials:

unbent paper clips (one for each bead)

several quarts of rose petals

Water

rose oil to strengthen the scent (optional)

a length of red string or yarn

{Try to get the strongest-smelling, "rosiest" blossoms you can obtain. Don't worry too much about color: As a rule, darker roses

have a more powerful scent than lighter ones, but there are many deeply fragrant pink, white, and yellow varieties as well . . . and the beads will dry to a dark red, brown, or black, no matter what

color the petals are.}

Directions

Once you've gathered the blossoms, pluck of the petals (about two quarts' worth) and put them in the blender.

Add water -1/4 cup for every 2 cups of petals - and chop the mixture fine.

(The non-electric alternative to this procedure is to mash the petals in a ceramic mortar, and then to add water. This is the traditional way to do it . . . but a blender will save time.)

Heat the rose pulp in a saucepan over medium heat. The old recipes say to use a cast iron pot if you want your beads to turn black. (The iron oxidizes, and thereby darkens, the pulp.)

However, my beads made from both red and yellow petals turned dark, dark red (almost black) without any special help.

Whichever container you choose, do not boil the mixture, or its scent

will be destroyed. Just stir it with a wooden spoon until it's the consistency of clay and doesn't stick to the side of the pan. At this point, remove the pot from the stove.

When the fragrant concoction is cool enough to handle, work and knead it with your fingers as if it were clay.

If it seems too watery to shape, remove the excess moisture by pressing a paper towel to the pulp's surface.

If you're working with petals that are unscented or only lightly perfumed, put some rose oil on your fingertips just as you begin to form the beads so that the fragrance can seep into

the little globes.

Note, however, since in this instance the essence will be used for cosmetic purposes, synthetic rose oil - which, at about $6.00 an ounce, costs one-third the price of true rose oil - would be quite suitable.

Now, roll around bits of the pulp to form balls about the size of marbles, or slightly larger, keeping in mind that the beads will shrink to half their original size during the drying process.

After the globes are shaped, press the ball into the candy mold to fill every nook and cranny of the little heart.

Poke a hole through the center of each one with an unbent paper clip

or similar bodkin . . . but be careful! The newly-made bead may break apart when pierced. If this happens, reshape it firmly around the shaft of the clip, then gently pull the clip out. I left my paper clips in the beads to be sure the hole would stay open, as I'm not altogether trusting of these things. :)

Allow the beads to dry for at least two or three days, during which time they'll shrink and darken.

Roll them over daily to insure that they dry evenly. Sometimes the hole in a bead shrinks and closes up entirely. To prevent this from happening, people often string the rounds - very carefully - onto clear nylon fishing line before setting them out to dry, and then slide them gently along the strand every day to keep the holes open. I just inverted the beads in the molds every day and moved the paper clip a little each day, to keep it open and flowing.

When the rosy globes are thoroughly dry, they'll be (surprise!) rock hard.

Polish them gently with a clean, soft cloth, and - if you haven't already done so - string them. I used a piece of red string or yarn and put one bead on each string, planning for one bead for each of the ladies at the bridal shower. I tied the string into a circle that was about 6-7 inches around.

To preserve their fragrance, wrap the beads in a soft cloth saturated with rose oil ... and always store them in a closed container.

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