posted 2 months ago
Hi Timothy, look out for them this autumn, here is an old-fashioned recipe from wartime years in UK! The most important thing is to stop the little hairs in the hips from getting into the final preparation! Makes a great immune tonic as rich in vitamin C.
Rose Hip Syrup (Ministry of Food style)
1 kg rose hips
3 litres water
500 g sugar
Sort through the rose hips and discard any over-ripe, mouldy, damaged fruits. Boil 2 litres of the water. Chop or mince the rose hips coarsely and add them to the boiling water. Bring back to the boil then allow to cool and stand for 15 minutes, then strain through a clean muslin cloth. Reserve the strained water. Boil the remaining 1 litre of water and pour onto the rosehip pulp, bring to the boil and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then strain. Put both water extracts together and gently simmer till reduced to one litre. Add the sugar and dissolve and boil for 5 minutes. Bottle the hot syrup in clean bottles (old sauce or vinegar bottles are good), place them upright in a deep pan of boiling water with lids a little loose, simmer for 5 mins to sterilise. remove and tighten the lids and allow to cool. Keeps 12 months, but if opened then store in the refriferator.
[A little less laboursome way is treat like other hedgerow fruit - trim ends and pierce with a fork several times, then pack layers of rosehips and sugar into a jar, seal and place in sunny windowsill turning daily for 6-8 weeks - then strain the syrup through muslin]
Herbal practitioner and author writing about sustainable harvest and use of medicinal trees and shrubs in a temperate climate. See her Medicinal Tree Woman newsletter at annestobart.substack.com.