This Centuries-Old Ingredient Makes Almost Everything Taste Like Magic

[elleng]

Last edited Wed Sep 24, 2025, 09:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Orange blossom water adds delicate, floral depth to everything from desserts and drinks to salads and syrups.

Growing up in the Middle East, my sister and I used to joke that our desserts were flavored with ingredients that sounded like they were plucked straight out of an enchanted garden: mastic resin, rose water, sahleb (actually made from orchid tubers). Orange blossom water is right at home among them, and despite its magical-sounding name and even more magical aroma, it was always an everyday ingredient for us. It's increasingly an everyday ingredient in the US as well—today, you can find bottles of it in mainstream grocery stores and online.

It has long been a pantry staple across the Levant, Iran, Turkey, and North Africa. Once you start using it, it becomes one of those quiet essentials, subtle but mysteriously transformative, adding something you can't quite name but instantly love. It is a powerful ingredient, far more versatile than it may seem at first glance, finding a welcome place in refreshing drinks, breakfasts, salads, and so much more.

What Is Orange Blossom Water?
Distilled from the blossoms of bitter orange trees (also known as Seville orange trees), it has the power to transform a dish with just a few drops.

SOUNDS good, eh???

https://www.seriouseats.com/orange-blossom-water-love-letter-11