Gulkand – a summer essential Ayurvedic tonic

Gulkand is an Ayurvedic tonic which is a great addition to your diet in the summer. It’s a natural preserve made using just rose petals and sugar – it literally translates to sweetened rose petals (‘gul’ means rose and ‘kand’ means sweet)

Eating Gulkand regularly comes with a host of benefits. It works as a natural coolant, so it helps with all kinds of heat related issues like stomach heat, acidity, lethargy, heat stroke etc. It is also said to improve memory and eyesight, help with digestion and prevent skin related issues like acne and blackheads. The only drawback is the high content of sugar used to make Gulkand – so it may be an issue for people who are diabetic or are generally cutting back on sugar.

We usually stock up on some Gulkand through the hot summer months. Gulkand is fairly straightforward to make (you’ll find plenty of recipes online), but you need a lot of good-quality rose petals to make one batch. We prefer sourcing Gulkand from brands that use only natural ingredients and, as far as possible, stick to the old-school method of making it i.e. layering rose petals and sugar in a glass jar and leaving it in the sun for about a week or so to cure.

Last year, we got some from a brand called Keynote. We ordered it from Amazon – Click here. The Keynote Gulkand was exceptionally good. The Gulkand was completely natural and cured in the sun the traditional way. It  also contained praval pishti (coral calcium) and cardamom for enhanced cooling benefits. However, the Keynote Gulkand has been out of stock for a while now, so we decided to try something new.

So this year, we ordered organic Gulkand from Kashmir Box. While Gulkand is usually made using only roses and sugar, this particular brand interestingly uses locally sourced honey instead of sugar – which gives it a nice flavor and makes it a little healthier than the usual sugar-based Gulkand. They don’t add anything else to it- so it’s just Kashmiri roses and honey! We’ve been having a spoonful of this (neat) in the morning (post breakfast) and in the evening. We sometimes top it over vanilla or coconut ice cream too! You could even use it to make milkshake or top it up over cake and cookies.

Gulkand is one of those rare Ayurvedic tonics that is not only healthy but also tastes great! So go ahead and eat some Gulkand to beat the heat this summer!

What

All-natural Gulkand

Why

To keep your system cool through the summer

Where

You can place an order for Gulkand through the Kashmir Box website – Buy From Here