RECIPE
Now, I am known for rarely following a recipe and making it up as I go along. So, don’t worry too much about exact quantities, this does not need mL accuracy!
Collecting rosehips – TAKE GLOVES! Rosa rugosa is totally covered in thorns and fiendish as a result. I picked a half poly bag of supermarket size including the leaves and made over 1l of syrup. To trial it out, you’ll need far fewer. Be kind to wildlife and make sure you don’t overpick as they need these things too. See my post on mindful foraging here
EQUIPMENT
- Scissors, Gloves & Bag for collecting
- Steel pan, weighing scales
- Sterilised bottles (wash well in hot, soapy water then dry in the oven at a low-ish heat eg 100oC) – preferably in amber glass
INGREDIENTS
- A bag of rosehips
- Sugar – I prefer molasses or other raw cane varieties but they do change the flavour – white sugar has least impact on flavour
METHOD
- lay out the hips and ask the insects to ‘buzz off’
- give your hips a brief rinse
- snip off all the green bits straight into a steel pan
- add enough water to cover
- bring to a gentle simmer
- once softer, begin to mash off the heat
- add a little more water if too sticky
- strain through a jelly bag or double muslin (IMPORTANT – the hairs inside the hips were used for itching powder and are not nice in your gut!) overnight. Squeeze gently but not enough to split the muslin
- measure the volume of liquid
- weigh out sugar to half weight of volume (eg 100ml liquid = 50g sugar)
- return to a low heat, stir in sugar until dissolved
- take off heat, allow to cool a little
- bottle in sterile bottles – small is good
- LABEL WELL!
Tips for making things
Always label.
Take notes of the process and where you found your bounty – you think you’ll remember but you won’t (heed my warning – I know this all too horribly well!)
Always label
If you wash bottles in dishwasher, labels may not then stick well – worth wiping down outside first – depends on label type
Did I say to label?
Store cool and dark, especially if your bottles aren’t amber glass. Refrigerate after opening.