Roses for Valentine's day are always nice, but a tad unoriginal. This is a way to make a bouquet of roses more creative AND more delicious. In case you weren't yet aware, roses are edible, raw or cooked! Their petals are used in all sorts of food, ranging from sweet breads to jellies. So, instead of a bouquet of roses and chocolate, how about a bouquet of roses IN chocolate for Valentine's day?

Step 1:

Materials:

You will need:
-3-5 red roses
-one 100-gram chocolate bar (the better the chocolate, the better the chocolate-covered roses)
-a cooking pot
-a bowl (preferably glass) that is a bit too big to fit in to the cooking pot so that when it rests inside the pot there is at least 3 inches between the bottom of the bowl and that of the pot
-a glass (big enough to easily fit an entire rose flower inside)
-a vase

Apparently the darker red the color of the roses, the more tasteful they are (be sure to avoid roses colored with artificial coloring added to their water, such as the blue and purple 'varieties' in stores). Organic is generally better, as for any other food, so that extra chemicals from pesticides/herbicides/artificial fertilizers can be avoided, and some flower shops will try to spray the flowers with a waxy spray to make them shinier after they've compiled your bouquet, so be sure to ask them not to before this happens.

Step 2: Wash and Dry Roses

Gently and thoroughly wash the roses in cold or lukewarm water, gently separating the petals at their tips so that the inner petals are also rinsed out.
Gently pat the roses dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towel. Make sure that they are thoroughly dried- it is very important for the chocolate to set correctly.

Step 3: Melt the Chocolate

Fill the cooking pot up with water until the water level is just below the point at which the bottom of the glass bowl will rest. Bring the water to a gentle boil over medium-low heat. You just need enough so that the water won't boil away in about ten minutes.
Put the chopped chocolate in the glass bowl and place the bowl into the cooking pot so that the bottom rests above the boiling water.
Stir slowly until all of the chocolate is consistently melted and there are no more chunks.

Step 4: Dip the Roses

Pour the melted chocolate into a glass that will fit the entirety of a rose (minus the stem) into it easily.
Dip a rose deep into the chocolate, up to the base of the petals, and turn it one way, then lift the rose out and continue to turn it slowly in the same direction as you let excess chocolate drip off.
Over the bowl, you can use a spoon to scrape off any excess and to shape the petals and chocolate into a nice, neat twist, following the same direction as before. Use a paper towel to wipe off any chocolate that accidentally dripped onto the sepals or stem.

Step 5: Dry and Arrange Roses

Place the roses in a vase to dry (have water in the vase if you want them to last without drooping for a couple of days, but it's easiest to have them in a dry vase to avoid a chocolaty-rosy (delicious) sticky syrup from dripping down the petals after a few hours). When they are all dry, tie them together and arrange them however you like to make a nice bouquet.