There’s nothing like a nice, cold glass of lemonade on a hot day. But what if you give it a rosy twist? I recently stumbled across a recipe for roseade in The Brothers Grimm Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Fairy Tales by Robert Tuesley Anderson. It’s essentially a pitcher of lemonade with rose water.

On its own, it’s more sour than sweet (it only called for 1/3 cup sugar to 4 whole lemons) and offers just a hint of rose flavor, so in my version below I’ve increased those ingredients. Some people are more sensitive to rose water, however, so I’m suggesting to start with the lower amount and add more to taste.

This is non-alcoholic. If you want to change that, you know what to do.

2/3 c. sugar
2 1/3 + 4 1/2 c. water
4 lemons, sliced
1-3 tbsp. rose water
dried rose petals (optional for garnish)
raspberries (optional for garnish)

In a large saucepan, heat the sugar and 2 1/3 c. of the water, stirring to dissolve the sugar. As soon as it’s dissolved, add the lemon slices and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add the remaining water. Stir, then cool completely.

Once cold, roughly crush the lemon slices to release all the juice (a potato masher works well for this). Strain through a strainer into a pitcher and add 1 tbsp. of the rose water. Stir, taste, and add the other tablespoons if desired.

Chill until ready to serve.

Pour over glasses of ice, adding rose petals and/or raspberries as desired.