Karin, if you’re brave enough to distill your own orange flower water, I’m impressed. It used to be the job of the grandmother of the house, so it can’t be rocket science – but unless someone experienced shows me how to do it, I won’t.

Oranges are blossoming now. Maybe it’s time to make some?

A pot still or an alembic is used to distil alcohol too, but I don’t know about your idea. We just macerate the flowers in water then cook them in a pressure cooker (cocotte minute)that has a pipe coming up from its lid. The pipe bends down and passes through another receptacle filled with cold water. Vapour condensates in the section going through the water and drops into a glass receptacle at the end of the pipe, that’s your orange water. I’m not allowed to do it myself, officially because you need much trial and error to get the temperature and water to flower ratio right etc… but I think it’s because everyone thinks I’d manage to blow the stuff up or something, they’re probably right 🙂

You might try this: http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ht/oran_flow_water_recipe.htm But I have no idea if it works.

My favourite qrishlet, you omit the sugar and seeds, and add instead salt, paprika, chili powder and finely ground Edam cheese (grate, freeze, then ground)to taste, the rest exactly the same. Or Edam cheese and thyme.

You can omit the seeds and knead cocoa powder into half the dough. Flatten the white dough and cut long rectangles, then the brown dough and try to cut similar rectangles, put them one over the other then roll to make the “snake” as Miriam said. When cut you’ll have a pattern like a snail’s shell 🙂

Ah Argan, were I a buck I’d be offended for my kind! They go around collecting the fruits, braving thorns and gravity, store them for us, then give the nuts back once back home conveniently clear from the flesh of the fruit, and we ungrateful humans after all that hard work go all yuk and yee! I’m in a mind to spread the myth to curb the outside demand though, otherwise an Argan omelette like the one I’m eating now might become too pricey for me! 🙂

Xoussef,

I have 6 orange trees in my garden and have a huge pot of marmalade in the fridge right now. One tree is heavy from the weight of all the oranges, but they are not a variety that is tasty to eat raw.

They blossom in spring, soon. Can I soak the flowers in a tasteless alcohol to make it work? Is that what you mean by a still?

I love qrishlet. Any more tips? And for the record – what’s the deal with argan oil? Was the argan nut ever “cracked” by a goat digestive tract or is that just a rumor still circulating?

Karin: If you have a Bigaradier in bloom (streets are lines with it here), you harvest the flowers by putting a sheet of cloth underneath and shaking the branches with a long stick. Then use a still to make orange water, they are made here from old pressure cookers. If you have a big tree you can still have enough fruits to make marmalade.