Rosehip Marmalade

At the minute it feels a little bit like the Itchy and Scratchy Show here at Pattypans.   I completely forgot to take the usual precautions I take like wearing an apron and some marigolds and got stuck in de-seeding Rosehips. I need a kg to make some Rosehip Marmalade.  To tell you the truth I had forgotten about this little recipe.  I had come across it before but had never made it.  It was purely a chance conversation with our Head Cashier at work that triggered the memory of the recipe.  His wife is Danish and he was saying that the recipe she used for Rosehip Jam was very soft setting and not like we know jam but absolutely lovely as far as flavour goes.  That made my mind up  - I went looking for the recipe and found it.  It is from the Sloe Gin and Beeswax book by Jane Newdick.  So this evening I have been preparing Rosehips and will have to finish off tomorrow.  Those that I have prepared are in the fridge ready for processing tomorrow.  I also intend to make some Rosehip Syrup and some Rosehip Jelly that is if I ever stop itchin and scratching.  I must admit I do like raiding the Hedgerow to put away little gems like this and of course Rosehips are high in Vitamin C.  The recipe is a cross between a jam and a conserve.  However de-seeding Rosehips is the most tedious of jobs and it certainly requires patience for little results, but if you keep cracking on in small batches then you should reap the rewards.  However I am going to be busy again tomorrow evening processing some more armed with the marigolds and coverings so this time I don't scratch as much.

You will need

Ingredients:

2lb/1kg Rosehip shells cleaned of all seeds.

6 fl oz/175ml distilled malt vinegar

10 fl oz/275ml water

1/2 a vanilla pod

1lb/500g sugar

Juice of 1 to 2 lemons

Method:

1. Prepare the Rosehips by cutting in half and scooping out the seeds into a separate bowl with a teaspoon.
2. Put the Rosehips vinegar and water with the vanilla pod into a large pan and simmer gently until almost completely soft.
3. Add the sugar and then cook until the hips are really soft and the marmalade/jam has thickened a little.  Add the lemon juice to taste and then remove the vanilla pod.  Pot into preferably china jars rather than glass as if glass the preserve may lose its colour.  There is however a way around this by wrapping brown wrapping paper round the glass jars and taping down.

 Will see how I get on. I usually keep some dried Rosehip shells in the house in any event as you can make wine from them, grind them down for a vitamin c powder to sprinkle on your cereal, in a jam, as a jelly  as a syrup/ice cream sauce.  I will let you know how I get on  - if I don't like it maybe I will take it in to my friend at work so then it will be waste not want not.  If you don't try different things you just never know what you are missing.

Catch you soon

Pattypan

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