Intro
Monin Rose Syrup is a popular flavoring syrup used to add a sweet, floral rose flavor to drinks and desserts. With its bright pink color and distinctive rose aroma, Monin Rose Syrup can transform the taste of everything from coffee and cocktails to ice cream and pastries. But what exactly does this floral syrup taste like? Keep reading to find out!
Rose Flavor Profile
The flavor of Monin Rose Syrup is dominated by the sweet, perfumed taste of roses. Natural rose extract gives the syrup its authentic floral scent and flavor. Tasters often describe the taste as reminiscent of fresh rose petals, with a delicate, sweet, and slightly tangy quality. The rose flavor is backed by a rich, viscous simple syrup base, lending the syrup a smooth, silky texture and mouthfeel. The sweetness level of Monin Rose Syrup is moderate, allowing the rose flavor to take center stage without being overly cloying. The syrup has a natural pink hue from rose extracts that also enhances its flower-essence aesthetic. Overall, the taste is sweet and fragrant, with a pleasant rose perfume that isn’t too strong or artificial tasting. The syrup brings a touch of springtime to any food or drink it’s added to.
How Monin Rose Syrup Is Made
Monin Rose Syrup gets its flavor from a combination of natural rose extract and a sugar syrup base. The company uses extract of Rosa centifolia, a rose variety prized for its elegant, sweetly floral aroma. The extract is blended into a simple syrup base made from cane sugar and water. The result is a smooth, pourable syrup infused with the taste and fragrance of natural rose petals. Monin uses an extraction method that captures the most flavor from the rose petals. Their process results in a syrup that tastes like you’re sipping the nectar straight from freshly picked roses.
Taste In Different Applications
The sweet, fragrant taste of Monin Rose Syrup shines through in both hot and cold applications. Here’s how the floral flavor comes across in some classic uses:
Iced Tea
Stir a splash of rose syrup into a glass of iced tea for a refreshing floral twist. The rose flavor blends beautifully with black tea’s tannins and adds a touch of sweetness.
Lemonade
A dash of rose syrup brings a pretty twist to classic lemonade. It complements the tart citrus flavor and gives it a lightly sweet, rosy aroma.
Cocktails
Monin Rose Syrup is a popular cocktail ingredient, lending its floral essence to drinks like the rose gimlet, rose cosmopolitan and rose-tini. The syrup plays nicely with gin and vodka and brings its perfumed flavor to the forefront.
Yogurt
Stirred into plain yogurt, rose syrup perfumes the dairy with its delicate petal flavor. It sweetens yogurt naturally without overwhelming it.
Ice Cream
Adding a swirl of rose syrup to vanilla or berry ice creams results in a floral twist on a classic treat. The syrup maintains its sweet, soft rose taste even when frozen.
Cakes
Rose syrup can be used to flavor whipped cream frostings, creme anglaise fillings, and batters for cakes like rosewater cake. Its rosy flavor comes through beautifully in creamy, delicate desserts.
How Sweet Is Monin Rose Syrup?
Monin Rose Syrup has a medium sweetness level. On its own, it tastes moderately sweet, allowing the natural rose flavor to take center stage. The syrup contains 65g of sugar per 100ml, making it sweeter than plain simple syrup but not overly so. When added to drinks and food, it imparts a touch of pleasant sweetness along with its signature rose perfume. The moderate sweetness means you likely won’t need to adjust the sugar in recipes when you add it. And a little rose syrup goes a long way, so you can achieve the perfect floral sweetness with just a splash or two.
Rose Syrup Versus Rose Extract
Flavor Intensity
Rose syrup has a more pronounced, bolder rose taste than pure rose extract on its own. Extracts capture the essential oils and flavors of rose petals through distillation. But rose syrup also contains a sugar base that helps carry and amplify the rose flavor. The syrup form leads to a stronger, more recognizable rose taste.
Sweetness
Rose syrup contains added sugar, while pure rose extract does not have an inherently sweet flavor. The sugar in the syrup balances and enhances the floral taste. Extract would need sugar or another sweetener added to achieve the sweeter flavor that is signature to rose syrup.
Texture
Thick, viscous syrup has more body and richness than thin, watery extracts. Rose syrup’s silky texture integrates smoothly into drinks and desserts. Extract can more easily become unevenly dispersed or separate when added to liquids.
Color
Rose syrup gets its natural pinkish-red hue from actual rose extracts. Extracts are often clear or only faintly tinted. So rose syrup’s pretty pink color better enhances its visual rose aesthetic.
Convenience
For cooking and mixing drinks, rose syrup offers greater convenience and consistency in flavor. Extract would need to be carefully measured for the right rose strength. The syrup form ensures you get an optimized, ready-to-use rose flavor in every pour.
Taste Comparison To Other Flower Syrups
Monin also makes syrups infused with the flavors of other popular flowers, like violet and lavender. Here’s how the taste of Monin Rose Syrup compares:
Monin Violet Syrup
Violet syrup has a markedly more perfumed, heady flavor than rose syrup. Its taste is intensely floral, like breathing in violet blossoms. The rose syrup is sweeter, fruitier, and more delicate than the potent violet.
Monin Lavender Syrup
Lavender syrup is herbal and aromatic, with a note of spice. Rose syrup tastes lighter, brighter, and more citrusy. The lavender flavor is stronger and feels medicinal or soapy to some palates.
Monin Hibiscus Syrup
Hibiscus syrup has a tart, cranberry-like flavor. Rose syrup is sweeter, with more delicate floral notes. Hibiscus has an almost tangy, sour taste, while rose is smooth and sweetly fragrant.
Monin Elderflower Syrup
Elderflower syrup has a mild, peachy, perfumed flavor. The rose tastes more distinctly floral, while elderflower is subtler with more fruitiness. Elderflower is also less sweet than rose syrup.
Rose Syrup Versus Rose Water
Rose syrup and rose water both impart floral rose flavor, but they differ significantly in taste and concentration.
Concentration
Rose syrup is much more concentrated and intense in rose flavor than rose water. Rose water is basically water infused with rosy aroma. Syrup contains actual rose extract for a true rose taste. Just a teaspoon or two of syrup has as much flavor as a whole cup of rose water.
Sweetness
Syrup contains added sugar that gives it a sweeter flavor. Rose water on its own does not taste sweet at all, just pleasantly rosy. Rose water would need sugar added to achieve the sweeter profile that balances syrup’s rose taste.
Consistency
The thick viscosity of syrup makes its rose flavor smooth and luxurious. Watery rose water can sometimes separate out or dissipate when added to other liquids. Syrup seamlessly integrates its taste.
Appearance
Syrup’s pretty pink color is natural from the roses. Rose water is generally clear or only very faintly tinted from the blossoms. So syrup has a richer, more vibrant rose-colored aesthetic.
Usage
Syrup adds bold, recognizable rose flavor with just a splash or two. Much more rose water would be needed to impart the same degree of rosy taste. So syrup offers greater convenience and flavor impact.
Recipes Showcasing Rose Syrup
Monin Rose Syrup beautifully enhances both sweet and savory recipes. Here are some tasty ways to showcase its floral flavor:
Rose Syrup Cake
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Butter | 1 cup |
| Sugar | 1 1/4 cups |
| Eggs | 4 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp |
| Flour | 2 cups |
| Baking powder | 2 tsp |
| Milk | 1/4 cup |
| Monin Rose Syrup | 3 Tbsp |
1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2. Whisk together flour and baking powder. Fold into butter mixture alternating with milk.
3. Once just combined, fold in rose syrup.
4. Pour batter into a greased cake pan and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes.
The syrup adds moisture and a lovely rosy perfume that pairs perfectly with vanilla cake. Frost with rose buttercream for extra floral flavor.
Rose Pavlova
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Egg whites | 4 |
| Sugar | 1 cup |
| Cornstarch | 1 Tbsp |
| White vinegar | 1 tsp |
| Heavy cream | 1 cup |
| Strawberries | 2 cups |
| Monin Rose Syrup | 2 Tbsp |
1. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually whisk in sugar.
2. Fold in cornstarch and vinegar.
3. Pipe meringue into a round on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake at 300F for 1 hour, then cool completely.
5. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Swirl in rose syrup.
6. Top pavlova with rose-infused cream and sliced strawberries.
The syrup gives this meringue dessert a sweetly floral note that pairs dreamily with the berries.
Pink Lemonade Freeze
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lemon juice | 1/2 cup |
| Sugar | 3/4 cup |
| Water | 2 cups |
| Strawberries | 1 cup |
| Monin Rose Syrup | 2 Tbsp |
1. Combine lemon juice, sugar, and water. Stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Blend in strawberries.
3. Add rose syrup and blend again briefly to mix.
4. Pour into popsicle molds or freeze in an ice cube tray.
The floral rose flavor pairs perfectly with the bright lemon and juicy strawberries. Kids and adults alike will love these pink frozen treats!
Where to Buy Monin Rose Syrup
Monin Rose Syrup can be purchased at many grocery stores, coffee shops, and online retailers including:
Grocery Stores
– Kroger
– Publix
– Safeway
– Wegmans
– Whole Foods
– Sprouts
– Trader Joe’s
Online
– Amazon.com
– Walmart.com
– Instacart.com
– Jet.com
– Bokksu.com (Japanese specialty seller)
Coffee Shops
– Starbucks
– Peet’s Coffee
– Caribou Coffee
The recognizable pink bottle is easy to spot in stores or online. It typically retails for $8-$12 for a 750ml bottle.
How to Store Opened Rose Syrup
Like other syrups, Monin Rose Syrup has a relatively long shelf life of about 2 years unopened. Once opened, for best quality and taste, try to use it within:
– Counter: 2-3 months
– Pantry: 6-8 months
– Fridge: 12 months
The cool temperature of the fridge helps slow deterioration and extends the syrup’s flavor. Transfer to a tightly sealed container or bottle and store in a dark fridge spot. Look for any mold development as a sign it may be expiring. But an uncontaminated syrup should maintain its taste for a full year refrigerated.
Before using, return the syrup to room temperature to restore its fluid pour consistency. The rose flavor remains intact through chilled storage.
Conclusion
With its sweet, perfumed rose taste, Monin Rose Syrup brings elegance and floral delight to any recipe. Sip its nectar in tea, blend into smoothies, or use to elevate desserts for a flavor reminiscent of strolling through rose gardens in full bloom. From cocktails to yogurt and everything between, Monin Rose Syrup infuses foods and drinks with the sophisticated beauty of delicate rose petals.