Iran can be considered as the cradle of the world’s saffron. Almost 90 percent of the world’s saffron is produced in Iran. Even many of saffron that are distributed with label of other countries are from Iran. Saffron in Iran goes back 3000 years and still has its own power. Saffron is known as the red gold of desert because its origin is Iran’s deserts. Even Unlike the fact that many believe the word saffron originates from Arabic name, Iran is the origin of its name and most of the Arabic sources have reference to Iranian sources.

Iranian Tea

ea is originated from china and India considers itself as another owner of tea industry in the world. Tea cultivation in Iran has not the long history of these two countries but the specific climate of northern Iran which has a good moisture and is mountainous can provide a great product. Iranian tea is of the cleanest teas in the world and pesticides are not used in its cultivation. Mountainous climate of northern Iran is greatly effective in improvement of taste of Tea and moreover allows plants to be free of pests which is one of the reasons for not using pesticides.

Iranian Carpet

The art of carpet weaving in Iran originated more than 2,500 years ago. Persian carpets and rugs were initially woven as articles of necessity to cover the floors of nomadic tribesmen, giving them protection from the cold and damp. The natural progression of the skill and craft involved in the creation of these works of art has been passed down from generation to generation over the centuries throughout periods of peace, invasion and war. As international trade developed, the variety of patterns and designs grew.

Iranian rosewater

Fragrances are like songs which accompany you. Now if these fragrances are associated with a good taste, we all will enjoy it. Rosewater is the complete and clear definition of these conditions. You only have to open it and it’s will play with your mind like a light music and you will be amazed by its taste similar to an orchestra peak. Rosewater is another one of pleasant and lovely products of Iran. It must seem strange to you that most of the perfume designers travel to Iran to buy original high-quality rosewater personally. Rosewater is produced from damask rose which is a type of rose in a process developed by Iranians.

Iranian pistachio

There is no doubt that  Iranian pistachio has the best taste and maximum nutrition. The special climate of Kerman province is the only best place for growing pistachios.

Iranian pistachios offer various advantages that set them apart from other types of pistachio in the world. Higher meat content offers better value for money. Iranian pistachios have a world-famous taste that is unrivalled.
This taste advantage is enhanced by roasting Iranian pistachios at higher temperatures, made possible by higher unsaturated oil content. This high temperature roasting eliminates any bacterial contamination, which may be present in raw product.

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Ingredients

12 SERVINGS

Preparation

Recipe by Andy Baraghani
Photograph by Bobbi Lin

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The dry central desert of Iran has hidden pink-colored gems in its depth and the spectator eyes are dazzled at the rubies. Every year during the second half of May, an ancient festival is being held in Kashan and surrounding areas where many people from different parts of the country and abroad are gathered to see flower-picking and process of extracting rosewater as well as historic monuments and architecture. Over 2,000 Kashani inhabitants are involved in the cultivation, growing and picking roses and the production of rosewater whose major activity is centered at the Karkas Mountain slopes and the west of Kashan. The cultivated lands are estimated by the experts at 850 hectares and on the average three tons of rose are harvested at each hectare.

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The ceremony for making rosewater in Kashan attracts many tourists. Every day, some 80,000 people tour various cities of Kashan for this traditional ceremony.The arrival of tourists in the districts of Kashan has a positive impact on the region’s economy.

Rose water is made from a very sweet smelling kind of rose and is used in various traditional dishes and sweets. It is also used as a perfume among Muslims. Although some modern mechanized factories are constructed, but still a large part of this, let say industry, is done traditionally. And this traditional rose water production which is established at homes or gardens attracts tourists to Kashan. Historical monuments and architecture of Kashan adds to the popularity of this festival too.

The people of Ghamsar collect roses, boil them in special pots and collect their water in beautiful containers. It is a pride for the city that each year, the most sacred place on earth, Kaaba (Mecca), is washed with rose water from Ghamsar.

The ancient city of Ghamsar is like a shining star on the central Iranian desert. Surrounding mountains encircle it like a ring and protect its rose gardens against the heat of the desert. The environment of this garden city, the shade of trees and sound of flowing water in addition to music of birds and nightingales and fragrance of roses, has created an incredible milieu on the side of the desert. The garden city of Ghamsar is a patch of Paradise which becomes colorful as the spring begins. Its beauty is doubled when rose water ceremony commences and its hospitable people play host to millions of people who love nature and rose water of Ghamsar.

Mohammadi Rose (Rosa damascene or Damask rose) is among the most important roses in the world and among the most famous plants. Because of its extraordinary fragrance and diversity, this flower is planted in many parts of the world. The flower has applications in food, medicine and perfume industries.

Production of rosewater in Iran dates back to over 2,500 years. At present, Mohammadi Rose is produced in Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, India, Ukraine, the US, Canada, France, Britain and Japan. The first four countries are pioneers in the production of this flower. In Iran, Mohammadi Rose grows in the provinces of Fars, Kerman, Isfahan as well as East and West Azarbaijan.

The red rose, or Mohammadi rose, is further divided into seven groups: French red flower, wild rose, tea flower, miniature red flower, Bengalese red flower, and Iranian red flower. Out of all rose species, the Iranian red flower or Mohammadi flower is unique and most botanists have opined that it has been first planted in Iran and then taken to other countries. Experts maintain that Ghamsar has been a place for producing flower and rose water since a long time ago. Some believe that under Malekshah the Seljuk, when Miyandeh Mosque of Ghamsar was built, representative of an East Roman officials picked some roses from the slopes of Kouh Asbi mountain near Ghamsar and took them to Damascus (which was called Damask in those times) to be grown. This is why Iranian red flower is sometimes called Damask rose in English.

Although production of plant essences has a long history in Iran, but traditional rose water production machines were used to produce rose water for commercial purposes. Before that, rose water was produced through small distillation equipment for local uses. Anyway, production of rose water has been in vogue since ancient time and has sometimes led to prosperity of copper, glass making and packaging industries. Most of the local product is exported to other parts of the country and, therefore, despite most handicrafts, it has held its ground in contemporary times and has constantly improved in terms of quality and quantity. Another outcome of that situation was spread of the industry to neighboring villages of Ghamsar and even to other provinces during past decades. The emphasis put on Ghamsar is due to high quality of its rose water which results from natural conditions of the city.

The city has been and still is the main production center for the highest quality rose water as a result of its natural and climatic conditions. According to a study carried out by professors of Tehran University, the essence of Mohammadi flower of Ghamsar and the subsequent rose water has a concentration of 35 mg per 100 ml or 350 ppm, which makes it the finest and highest quality rose water in Iran and even in the world.

Equipment used for extraction of rose water in Ghamsar is nearly traditional and has hardly changed over the years. They include:

1. A copper pot with a capacity of 120-150 liters;

2. A big clay pot, which has not been replaced by the copper pot and is used to cover the pot. A major advantage of clay pot was that it did not burn the fragrance of the flower;

3. A copper pitcher with handle and a capacity of about 30-40 liters which is put in cold water, so that flower streams are turned into liquid;

4. Four wooden canes which are attached to each other to connect the pot to the pitcher; today, they use aluminum pipes instead of those canes;

5. A water pool where liquefaction is done; and

6. Heating equipment under the copper pot which is usually fed by oil or diesel fuel. In the past they used wood and bushes to warm it up.

First the copper pot is put on an oven made from bricks and cement or stones and mud. The heating agent is put below it. Then up to 30 kg of rose petals are poured into the pot and 80 liters of water is added. The pot is then covered and a heavy weight is put over it to control steam pressure. Probable holes and cracks are covered with a mortar made of the remnants of boil flowers and bread dough to prevent loss of steam.

Instead of weight and dough, they use elastic washers, screws and levers. The copper pitcher is put into the water and is kept in place by a ladder, or more recently, by cast iron pipes, so that, it will not rise to the surface of the water. Then canes or aluminum pipes are inserted into the pot, on the one side, and into the pitcher, on the other side and they wrap it in a piece of fabric with a cotton ball, so that, water would not penetrate into the pitcher. Water or any other foreign object will ruin the rose water.

Now, everything is ready. They kindle the oven to boil the pot. At that time, rose water and water steam progress in the pipe as far as the angle. From there, rose water steam continues toward the pitcher and is liquidated due to low temperature of environment. It takes about 4 hours before a pitcher full of rose water (40 liters) is obtained. When they pour the rose water into the bottle, they wait for it to cool down.

Then they rub some oil on the bottle. The waste collected at the bottom of the pot, which is called “bongol”, is used to feed livestock and is also dried to be used as fuel in winter or as fertilizer for gardens.

During the whole process, the flame should be steady and mild. In better words, the longer the distillation period and the steadier the flame, the higher would be quality of the end product. The water poured into the pot should be measured accurately to be proportionate to the weight of flower petals.

Ghamsar is the breeding ground for the finest and the most exquisite Mohammadi flowers and has the best traditions and methods for production of rose water. It is also the first place where industrial production of rose water has begun and there are many workshops in the city which produce rose water.

The first rose water production plant in Iran was established in Ghamsar in 1974-75 after studies were conducted by Bulgarian experts. It was built on the outskirts of Ghamsar (at 15th kilometer of Ghamsar – Kashan road). The second rose water production plant was established at the entrance of Ghamsar city and is called Golriz. The cooperative company of rose water producers of Ghamsar has established a plant at industrial park of Ghamsar in order to solve the problem of pasteurizing traditional rose water, which was the main hurdle on the way of production and sales of rose water. Behin Golab Company of Ghamsar is another example of industrial rose water production plants in the city and more plants will be launched soon.

Due to containing tannin, gallic acid, essence, fatty acids, pigments and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), petals of Mohammadi flower are used not only for production of rose water and essence, but for production of rose petal jam.

Since a long time ago, this plant was used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases including chronic diarrhea, rheumatic pains, blood abnormalities, and sore throat.

The part of the flower, which is used to produce rose water and essence, is petals. Boiled petals of Mohammadi flower are alkaline and constitute a good remedy for stress, flatulence, and abdominal colic. The boiled petals are also used to fight depression and to treat palpitation, insomnia, ordinary and bloody diarrhea, sickness, and inflammation.

In the past, rose water was used in traditional Iranian medicine to treat rheumatic heart disease, to strengthen gastric nerves, and to treat some forms of headache and sickness

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He told Iran Daily that Kashan is the hub for producing Mohammadi rose and rosewater in Iran.

Kashan, which has 1,900 hectares under cultivation of Mohammadi rose, is home to 10 percent of entire Mohammadi rose farms nationwide.

He put the average Mohammadi rose production at four tons per hectare while the total output of Mohammadi rose from farms and rose gardens in Kashan stands at 8,000 tons.

Hallaji said extraction of rosewater (golabgiri) is conducted using traditional and industrial methods.

“We have 27 industrial units and 1,500 traditional units for rosewater production across Kashan, providing direct or indirect job opportunities for 18,000 people.”

Since Kashan has many rosewater extraction factories and workshops, Mohammadi roses produced in farms of Kerman, Fars, Tabriz and Khorasan regions are also sent to Kashan for extracting rosewater, he said.

Close to 40 percent of rosewater is consumed domestically and the rest is exported, he added.

Hallaji further said the majority of Iranian rosewater is exported to Persian Gulf littoral states, Afghanistan, Iraq, European nations such as Germany, Southeast Asian nations like Japan and Malaysia, Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Armenia and Uzbekistan as well as to Canada and Russia.

He continued that in addition to rosewater, 80 herbal drinks are also produced in Kashan.

Hallaji put the production of rosewater and herbal drinks at 210,000 tons in the year to mid-March 2015 and this figure rose to 220,000 tons in the year to mid-March 2016.

He said that exports of rosewater and herbal drinks reached 1.6 million liters bringing in hard currency revenues of $2.1 million in the year to mid-March 2015. This increased to 1.88 million liters valued at $2.4 million in the year to mid-March 2016.

Hallaji noted that meager essence is produced in Kashan.

Essence has high value-added and is sold to perfume manufacturers, he added.

“Currently, we are planning to increase the production of essences.”

All workshops and industrial units which produce rosewater in Kashan are affiliated to Industrial Cluster of Kashan Rosewater, Herbal Drinks and Essence, he said.

At present, 500 industrial clusters have been identified across the country, he added.

He said Industrial Cluster of Kashan Rosewater, Herbal Drinks and Essence has been established under the supervision of the Organization of Small Industries and Industrial Townships of Iran.

“We seek to increase rosewater and herbal drinks production in Kashan,” he concluded.

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