Rose Water Recipe

Rose Water Recipe Rose water is one of several products your can buy or make that retains the fragrance of rose petals. It is used in perfumes and cosmetics, plus it has slightly astringent properties, so it makes an excellent facial toner. Because the commercial process used to make rose water is labor intensive and requires a lot of roses, its an expensive product to buy. However, if you have roses, you can make your own rose water quite easily. Its an easy example of distillation, an important chemical separation and purification process. Rose Water Materials rose petalswatersmall pancotton balls Experiment with different types of roses, since each rose has its own characteristic scent. Damask rose has the classic rose scent, but some roses smell like citrus fruit, spices, or licorice.The resulting rose water wont smell exactly the same as the original flowers because distillation only captures some of the volatile compounds present in the petals. There are other methods used to capture other essences, such as solvent extraction and more complex distillations. Directions Place the rose petals in a small pan.Add enough water to just barely cover the petals.Gently boil the water.Collect the steam that boils off using a cotton ball. You may wish to place the cotton ball on a fork or hold it with tongs, to avoid getting burned. Once the cotton ball is wet, remove it from the steam and squeeze it out over a small jar. This is the rose water.You can repeat the process to collect more steam.Store your rose water in a sealed container, away from direct sunlight or heat. You can refrigerate it to keep it fresh longer. Large Scale Rose Water Recipe Are you ready for a more advanced version of the project? If you have a few quarts of rose petals, you can collect much more rose water using a slightly more complex home steam distillation apparatus: 2-3 quarts rose petalswaterice cubespot with rounded lidbrickbowl that fits inside pot Place the brick in the center of the pot. There is nothing magical about the brick. Its purpose is simply to hold the collection bowl above the surface of the roses.Put the rose petals in the pot (around the brick) and add enough water to barely cover the petals.Set the bowl on top of the brick. The bowl will collect the rose water.Invert the lid of the pot (turn it upside down), so the rounded part of the lid dips into the pot.Heat the roses and water to a gentle boil. Place ice cubes on the top of the lid. The ice will cool the steam, condensing the rose water inside the pot and making it run down the lid and drip into the bowl.Continue gently boiling the roses and adding ice as needed until you have collected the rose water. Dont boil off all the water. Youll collect the most concentrated rose water in the first few minutes. After that, it will become more and more dilute. Turn off the heat when you notice the condensation isnt as rose-scented as you would like. You can collect be tween a pint and quart of rose water in 20-40 minutes using 2-3 quarts of rose petals. Other Floral Scents This process works with other floral essences, too. Other flower petals that work well include: honeysucklelilacvioletshyacinthirislavender You can experiment with mixing the scents to make custom fragrances. While rose water, violet water, and lavender water are edible and safe for use in cosmetics, some other types of flowers are only good as fragrances and shouldnt be applied directly to the skin or ingested. Safety Notes This is a fun project for kids, but adult supervision is required because boiling water and steam are involved. Kids can collect flowers and squeeze liquid from cooled cotton balls.If you are using the rose water (or violet or lavender water) for cooking or cosmetics, be sure to use flowers that are free of pesticides. Many gardeners spray flowers with chemicals or feed them with systemic pesticides. For a simple fragrance project, its fine to simply rinse off the flower petals to remove any residue, but avoid using chemically treated flowers for food projects or cosmetics. Learn More Design Your Own PerfumeSolid Perfume RecipeSafety Tips for Making Perfume

Biography of El Cid, Medieval Spanish Hero

Biography of El Cid, Medieval Spanish Hero El Cid (1045–July 10, 1099), whose birth name was Rodrigo Dà ­az de Vivar (or Bibar), is a Spanish national hero, a mercenary soldier who fought for the Spanish king Alfonso VII to liberate parts of Spain from the Almoravid dynasty and eventually captured the Muslim caliphate of Valencia and ruled his own kingdom. Fast Facts: El Cid Known For: National hero of Spain, mercenary soldier against Christian and Muslims, ruler of ValenciaBirth Name: Rodrigo Dà ­az de Vivar (or Bibar)Born: c. 1045 near Burgos, SpainParents: Diego Lainez and a daughter of Rodrigo AlvarezDied: July 10, 1099 in Valencia, SpainEducation: Trained in the Castilian court of Sancho IISpouse: Jimena (m. July 1074)Children: Cristina, Maria, and Diego Rodriguez Rodrigo Dà ­az de Vivar was born into a chaotic period in Spanish history when much of the southern two-thirds of the Iberian peninsula had been conquered by Islamic forces during the Arab conquest beginning in the 8th century CE. In 1009, the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate collapsed and disintegrated into competing city-states, called taifa. The northern third of the peninsula was broken into principalities- Leà ³n, Castile, Navarre, Barcelona, Asturia, Galacia, and others- who fought each other and their Arab conquistadors.  Islamic rule in Iberia varied from place to place, as did the borders of the principalities, but the last city to be liberated by the Christian Reconquista was the Emirate of Granada in 1492.   Early Life El Cid was born Rodrigo Dà ­az de Vivar or Ruy Dà ­az de Vivar in the town of Vivar in the Castilian principality near Burgos, Spain in about 1045. His father was Diego Lainez, a soldier in the battle at Atapuerco in 1054, which was fought between the brothers King Ferdinand I of Leà ³n (Ferdinand the Great, ruled 1038–1065) and King Garcà ­a Snchez III of Navarre (r. 1012–1054). Some sources report that Diego was a descendant of Lain Calvo, a legendary duumvir (magistrate) in the Court of Ordoà ±o II (King of Galacia, ruled 914–924). Although her name is not known, Diegos mother was a niece of the Castilian diplomat Nuà ±o Alvarez de Carazo (1028–1054) and his wife Doà ±a Godo; she named her son after her father, Rodrigo Alvarez. Diego Laniez died in 1058, and Rodrigo was sent to be the ward of Ferdinands son Sancho who resided at his fathers court in Castile, then part of Leà ³n. There Rodrigo likely received formal schooling in the schools which had been built by Ferdinand, learning how to read and write, as well as training in the use of arms, horsemanship, and the art of the chase. He may have been trained to arms by Pedro Ansurez, a Castilian count (1037–1119), known to have been in residence at Ferdinands court at the time. Military Career In 1065, Ferdinand died and his kingdom was divided up between his sons. The eldest, Sancho received Castile; the second, Alfonso, Leà ³n; and the region of Galicia was carved out of the northwest corner to create a separate state for Garcà ­a. The three brothers proceeded to fight one another for the entire kingdom of Ferdinand: Sancho and Alfonso together fended off Garcia and then fought each other. El Cids first military appointment was as standard-bearer and commander of troops for Sancho. Sancho emerged victoriously and reunited their fathers possessions under his control in 1072. Sancho died childless in 1072, and his brother Alfonso VI (ruled 1072–1109) inherited the kingdom. Having fought for Sancho, Rodrigo now found himself in an awkward situation with the Alfonso administration. According to some records, the breach between Rodrigo and Alfonso was healed when Rodrigo married a woman named Jimena (or Ximena), a member of a high-ranking Asturian family in the mid-1070s; some reports say she was Alfonsos niece. A 14th-century romance written about El Cid said he killed Jimenas father the Count of Gomez de Gormaz in battle, after which she went to Ferdinand to beg for redress. When Ferdinand refused to pay, she demanded Rodrigos hand in marriage which he willingly gave. El Cids main biographer, Ramà ³n Menà ©ndez Pidal, thinks that is unlikely since Ferdinand died in 1065. Whoever she was and however their marriage came about, Ximena and Rodrigo had three children: Cristina, Maria, and Diego Rodriguez, all of whom married into royalty. Diego was killed at the battle of Consuega in 1097. Despite his presence serving as a magnet for Alfonsos opponents, Dà ­az served Ferdinand loyally for several years, while Ferdinand waged war against Almoravid invaders. Then, after leading an unauthorized military raid campaign into the Muslim-controlled taifa Toledo, which was a tributary kingdom of Leon-Castile, Dà ­az was exiled. Fighting for Saragossa Upon exile, Diaz went to the Muslim taifa Saragossa (also spelled Zaragoza) in the valley of the Ebro, where he served as a mercenary captain with considerable distinction. Saragossa was an independent Arab Muslim state in Al-Andalus, which at the time (1038–1110) was ruled by the Banu Hud.  He fought for the Huddid dynasty for almost ten years, scoring significant victories against both Muslim and Christian foes. Famous battles which El Cid is known for were the defeat of Count Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona in 1082, and of King Sancho Ramirez of Aragon in 1084. When the Berber Almoravids invaded the peninsula in 1086, Alfonso recalled Diaz from exile. El Cid willingly returned and was instrumental in the defeat at Sagrajas in 1086. He stayed in favor with Alfonso for only a brief time: in 1089 he was exiled again. Rodrigo gained his nickname El Cid at some point during his military career, perhaps after his battles at Saragossa. The name El Cid is a Spanish dialect version of the Arabic word sidi, meaning lord or sir. He was also known as Rodrigo el  Campeador, the Battler. Valencia and Death After being exiled from Alfonsos court for the second time, El Cid left the capital to became an independent commander in the eastern part of the Iberian peninsula. He fought and extracted enormous amounts of tribute from the Muslim taifas, and, on June 15, 1094, he captured the city of Valencia. He successfully fought off two Almoravid armies who attempted to dislodge him in 1094 and 1097. He established himself as an independent prince in the region based at Valencia. Rodrigo Dà ­az de Vivar ruled Valencia until his death on July 10, 1099. The Almoravids recaptured Valencia three years later. El Cids Legends There are four documents which were written about El Cid during his lifetime or shortly thereafter. Two are Islamic, and three are Christian; none are likely to be unprejudiced. Ibn Alcama was a Moor from Valencia, who witnessed and wrote a detailed account of the loss of that province to El Cid called Eloquent Evidence of the Great Calamity. Ibn Bassam wrote a Treasury of the Excellences of the Spaniards, written in Seville in 1109. The Historia Roderici was written in Latin by a Catholic cleric sometime before 1110. The poem Carmen, written in Latin about 1090, extols the battle between Rodrigo and the Count of Barcelona; and the Poema del Cid, was written in Spanish about 1150. Later documents written long after El Cids life are even more likely to be fabulous legends rather than biographical sketches. Sources Barton, Simon. El Cid, Cluny and the Medieval Spanish Reconquista. The English Historical Review 126.520 (2011): 517–43.Barton, Simon and Richard Fletcher. The World of El Cid: Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000.Fletcher, Richard A. The Quest for El Cid. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.Pidal, Ramà ³n Menà ©ndez. La Espaà ±a Del Cid. Trans. Murray, John and Frank Cass. Abington, England: Routledge, 2016.