{"id":8473,"date":"2026-10-19T23:32:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8473"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:45","slug":"rozata","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/rozata\/","title":{"rendered":"Ro\u017eata"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ro\u017eata is a chilled dessert handed down in Dubrovnik, in southern Croatia. Caramel runs over an egg custard turned out onto a plate, and the scent of rose lies beneath the flavors of milk and lemon. It is made by combining eggs, milk and sugar, setting the mixture in a water bath, and scenting it with rozolin, the local rose liqueur. Even under the same name, the liqueur used, the vessel used for cooking, and the timing of unmolding vary from household to household.<\/p>\n

The rose liqueur behind the name<\/h2>\n

Rozolin is a liqueur made from rose petals, sugar and a grape-based distilled spirit. Petals and sugar are layered, the spirit is added, and after steeping in the sun, the liquid is strained and bottled. In Dubrovnik it has been used as a drink to welcome guests and as a gift, and it has also been added to homemade sweets.<\/p>\n

The name of the dessert is linked to the local rose liqueur rozolin<\/em>. As for its age, culinary consultant Josip \u017duvela related one tradition in 2017: an egg dessert recorded in 1300 as \u201cmonks’ pudding\u201d later had caramel and rose liqueur added to it.<\/p>\n

Infusing the milk and mixing the eggs gently<\/h2>\n

The core ingredients are whole eggs, milk and sugar. Lemon zest and sugar are added to the milk and warmed, and once cooled, the milk is combined with beaten eggs. The mixture is passed through a fine sieve to remove the egg strands and the like, making a smooth liquid that can be poured into the mold.<\/p>\n

The eggs are not whipped as for a sponge cake but mixed gently. If many bubbles form on the surface, holes are likely to remain in the cut surface after baking. Some versions add vanilla, while others are flavored with lemon and rozolin. Warming the milk also provides time to infuse it with aroma.<\/p>\n

Heating methods that set the custard gently in a water bath<\/h2>\n

Sugar is melted separately to make caramel, which is swirled over the bottom and sides of the mold. The egg mixture is poured in, and it is heated gently with hot water surrounding it.<\/p>\n

Heating methods vary. In one recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method) handed down in Dubrovnik, the mixture is heated in a water bath for about 75 minutes, until it is set enough that no liquid clings to a wooden stick such as a bamboo skewer. There is also a method of placing the mold in a baking tray filled with hot water and baking it in the oven. The baking time changes with the size of the vessel: about 30 minutes for small molds and about 1 hour for large ones.<\/p>\n

There is also a home method of placing one pot inside another, covering it with a cloth and a lid, and setting the custard in a water bath over low heat. Because it heats slowly while hot water is topped up, the way the heat reaches the custard differs from oven methods. What these methods share is a layer of water around the egg mixture.<\/p>\n

\n\"Ro\u017eata\n
Ro\u017eata photographed in Zagreb (September 10, 2009). Caramel spreads around the small custard turned out of its mold, and cream is served alongside. Photo: Bon\u010d. The originally published image includes brightness and color adjustments by Ubcule and Hohum. Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ Public domain<\/a>. Full-size image obtained. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\"Reference\n
Reference example of partly caramelized sugar cubes (2011). This does not show ro\u017eata being made, but it shows sugar turning brown. Photo: Robin M\u00fcller \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Downscaled version obtained from the source. No content alterations or cropping in this instance.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Cool, then unmold\u2014or unmold, then chill<\/h2>\n

Once the egg mixture has set, it is cooled and refrigerated. In one method, it rests in the mold overnight, and the next day a deep plate is placed over it and it is inverted, so the mold is removed after the custard has firmed up. In another method, it is turned out onto a plate while still warm and then chilled for several hours before serving.<\/p>\n

The caramel at the bottom of the mold moves to the top when the custard is inverted. This placement of the burnt sugar differs from sweets in which sugar is sprinkled over the surface and turned into a hard crust with an open flame. With ro\u017eata, the soft custard is cut and spooned up together with the syrup that has spread around it.<\/p>\n

\n\"Caramelizing\n
Comparison: caramelizing the surface of a cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e with a torch (2010, location unknown). Where the sugar is placed and how it is finished differ from ro\u017eata, in which caramel is laid in the bottom of the mold and the custard is then inverted. Photo: ChrisEngelsma \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Full-size image obtained. No content alterations or cropping in this instance.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Flavors that change with egg yolks, spirits, fruit and nuts<\/h2>\n

Even a small amount of rozolin adds a rose aroma to the milk and egg flavors of ro\u017eata. Some versions combine it with rum, while others use no rose liqueur and are flavored with vanilla and lemon instead. Whereas some versions are made with whole eggs only, other methods add egg yolks for extra richness.<\/p>\n

Finishes range from simple ones with only caramel and mint to versions served with whipped cream, candied orange and almonds. In one method, raisins soaked in rum are added once the egg mixture is half set, so that they stay suspended in the custard. At home, it may be made in a large dish and cut into portions, or in small individual molds.<\/p>\n

Ro\u017eata, which has spread to homes and restaurants throughout Dalmatia, also rounds off meals in Dubrovnik. Turned out from a caramel-lined mold onto a plate, it becomes a chilled dish carrying the aromas of flowers, citrus and liqueur.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Dubrovnik<\/strong>: A city in southern Croatia on the Adriatic Sea.<\/p>

Dalmatia<\/strong>: A region extending along Croatia’s Adriatic coast.<\/p>

Rozolin<\/strong>: A liqueur made by steeping rose petals in spirit and sugar. Also written rozalin, rozulin and in other ways.<\/p>

Josip \u017duvela<\/strong>: A culinary consultant who speaks about Dubrovnik’s sweets. In 2017, he related the tradition that caramel and rose liqueur were added to a medieval \u201cmonks’ pudding.\u201d<\/p>

Caramel<\/strong>: Sugar heated until it turns brown and develops a toasty aroma. In this dessert, it is poured over the inside of the mold.<\/p>

Water bath<\/strong>: A method of setting a vessel in hot water to heat it gently through the water.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. Dubrovnik Tourist Board: Rozata (current page after relocation)<\/a> \u2014 all ingredients and steps, rose liqueur, cooling the milk, straining, a 75-minute water bath, overnight chilling and unmolding. Not recorded on the basis of reading only the search snippet of the old URL.<\/li>
  2. Dubrovnik Tourist Board: Rozolin<\/a> \u2014 all ingredients and steps, petals with sugar and grape spirit, steeping and straining, use for hospitality and in sweets.<\/li>
  3. Dobra Hrana: Rozata (2012)<\/a> \u2014 all ingredients and all 6 steps, combined use of rose liqueur and rum, the reason for not creating foam, baking times for small and large molds, the version turned out while warm and then chilled.<\/li>
  4. Glas Grada: Dubrova\u010dka rozata (2017)<\/a> \u2014 all ingredients and steps, water-bath baking at 150\u2013160\u00b0C, the method of adding raisins partway through, and accompaniments. The story of a 1300 origin cites no primary source. It is not treated as an origin supported by medieval documents, and the main text attributes it to the tradition related by \u017duvela.<\/li>
  5. Fini Recepti: Ro\u017eata<\/a> \u2014 listed ingredients and all steps in the text, a version adding egg yolks, no rose liqueur, heating that switches to a water bath partway through. Video not viewed.<\/li>
  6. Coolinarika \/ thea2222: Dubrovacka Rozata (2009)<\/a> \u2014 all 10 steps, published as a family recipe from the author’s mother, heating with a double pot, a cloth and a lid. User comments are not treated as rules for the region as a whole.<\/li>
  7. Dubrovnik Tourist Board: Dubrovnik za ljubitelje hrane i pi\u0107a<\/a> \u2014 full text of the current tourism and culture page; its place among the town’s representative foods and as a caramel dessert.<\/li>
  8. Slatkopedija \/ Ana Brkanli\u0107 \u201cPovijest najpoznatije dubrova\u010dke slastice\u201d (2017)<\/a> \u2014 the origin story of a 1300 \u201cmonks’ pudding\u201d to which caramel and rose liqueur were added, confirmed in the section quoting Josip \u017duvela. Because the 1300 document could not be identified, reproduced or physically examined, this is treated only as a traditional narrative.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ro\u017eata is a chilled dessert of set eggs and milk handed down in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Caramel is poured into the bottom of a mold, the egg mixture is added, and it is heated in a water bath. When it is chilled and turned out onto a plate, amber caramel flows down over the pale custard. The addition of rose liqueur lends it an aroma of the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7528,"menu_order":244,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Ro\u017eata","subtitle":"A Dubrovnik caramel dessert scented with rose liqueur","topics":"Cooling the milk before combining it with the eggs \/ Coating the mold with caramel \/ Adding the aroma of rozolin","country":"Dubrovnik, Croatia","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["fruit","cream","egg"],"texture":["crumbly","smooth"],"occasion":[],"method":["chilled"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[164],"class_list":["post-8473","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t