Rosehips, Raw Rosehip Syrup, Rosehip Liqueur

 

Yesterday, I started off my first batch of Raw Rosehip Syrup. Dealing with Rosehips is fiddly, and time consuming so if you plan to have a go at this, make sure it is the only project on the cards for that day or indeed evening.  I have used Rosehips off and on for years, and in my mere opinion they are well worth the effort.  The other day, I had read an article on the Craft Invaders site on how to make Raw Rosehip syrup which I found interesting and very practical.  The link to the site is here:

Craft Invaders Site

The recipe for the Syrup is here:

Raw Rosehip Syrup

I found this article very helpful, and what made me have a go at this particular project was the fact that this is a Raw recipe where there is no heat applied which would reduce the Vitamin C level of the Syrup which helps so much with colds during the winter months.

I remember as a child being given Rosehip Syrup (think it was the Delrosa brand) every day and particularly in the winter months.  One of the older methods of keeping young children as healthy as possible in a time where illness was much more precarious.  Today we have inoculations, which deal with a lot of childhood illnesses, and we have more up-to-date medication, methods and techniques of dealing with these infections.  This to some extent minimises what actually happens with these infections when they are in full pelt. Some of them can be particularly nasty.

That being by the by, because of reduced immune system illnesses (several) I unfortunately pick up colds and infections very quickly and then end up being really poorly as a result. A common cold can crease me. Then more often than not I end up on antibiotics which in itself can be an issue in that you become to a certain extent immune to them if they are used too often.  My system has as a rule always reacted well to natural medicines. As a child, I had constant Tonsilitis, and they would not take my Tonsils out until I was seven.  My Nan went to see a local Apothecary and they made up the herbal medicine which indeed helped with the colds, snotty nose and constant coughs.  This medicine helped keep the infections at bay.  We were given the recipe, in order to have it made up locally but my dad, bless him, lost it.  It had garlic, lavender and lots of other roots and bits and bobs in.  It looked a beigy grey colour and was thick, but boy did it sort those colds out.

Rosehip Vitamin C powder

I will also if I can harvest enough Rosehips to dry and then make Vitamin C powder to add in with my breakfast cereal during the winter months.  You basically make this by cutting the Rosehips in half, scooping out the seeds and then drying just the shells in a dehydrator or in the oven.  The seeds are effectively "itching powder" so please wear some latex gloves when handling them.  Once the shells have been dried whether that be in the oven, in a dehydrator they are then ground down in a coffee grinder to a powder and you then just sprinkle a little in with your cereal on a daily basis.  A good cereal to serve this in is Muesli.

Raw Rosehip Syrup

There are no specific quantities of Rosehips and Sugar.  You just build up the ingredients to fill the jar.  A very organic way of making this preserve.  

The Rosehip Syrup is relatively easy to make.  However, the knack to making this appears to be more about the preparation. You must top and tail the Rosehips, and then cut a small but not deep incision into each hip all the way around the centre of the hip.  I used a small sharp paring knife to achieve this.  Otherwise, the juices from the hips will not be released into the sugar.

I washed the Rosehips first and sorted out any soft hips which you do not need.  If the seeds or the hairs get into the preserve they could irritate the throat and the gut. This is why you have to strain the preserve at the end of the procedure before decanting into sterilised bottles.

I then dried them off in a tea towel and popped them into a colander.

A tall jar was then used (I used a tall Sarsons Vinegar jar with a new lid which had been washed and sterilised and got this nice and dry.  You then put into the jar a layer of sugar in the bottom of the jar.  I used a funnel to achieve this.  I then started layering the Rosehips, and then added more sugar with the funnel, shook the jar and layered like this all the way up to the neck of the jar and then put a deep layer of sugar on the top and then popped on a screw top lid.  The sugar together with the juices from the hips will form the syrup.

The Syrup has been popped onto the bathroom windowsill (this window catches the sun during the day) and will be left there until the preserve does indeed turn to syrup.  This is apparently quite a thick syrup and will probably take some three months to reach this stage.  The syrup will then have to be passed through a muslin/jelly net to make sure that there are no hairs from the Rosehips within the syrup. Rosehip hairs are highly irritant especially to the throat and the stomach.  You may have to leave this overnight to strain out the hips from the syrup to make sure that you get as much as you can.

In the final stage, the syrup should then be decanted into sterilised bottles/jars and kept in a cool place.

Do not throw the infused hips away.  The hips can then be used with the addition of alcohol into a homemade Rosehip/Sweet Briar Liqueur.  Links and details below.

Uses for the syrup

The syrup can be used on pancakes, waffles, used as a cordial, as a sauce for puddings and ice cream.  The syrup can also be used as a base for making Rosehip/Sweet Briar Sorbet. It can also be taken daily as a boost of Vitamin C, generally anywhere that you would use a syrup.  Some things obviously go better together than others. Syrups today tend to be used as a base for a tea, or drinks and also used in Cocktails, whereas traditionally they were used to soak cakes or added to homemade fruit salad. I see a lot of uses for this, and that is why I intend to make at least a couple of bottles more for the Pantry shelf.  

And the Brucie Bonus!

Rosehip/Sweet Briar Liqueur

The link to this recipe is here:

Rosehip Liqueur

It includes:

Rosehips from Rosehip Syrup/or to fill a litre jar

Zest of a Lemon

Cinnamon Sticks

Cloves

Bottle of Brandy

Brown Sugar

Basically, all the ingredients are popped into a jar and left to macerate for at least a month. Everything is then strained and then decanted into sterilised bottles.  Please however follow the detailed instructions on the links given especially for measurements and quantities.  Craft Invaders has lots of lovely posts.

A bonus bit of something for the Pantry shelf.

I also intend to dry a load of Rosehip shells with the intent of making Rosehip wine from the dried hips at the beginning of the year and in order that I will have available for next Christmas Rosehip wine.  Sometimes we cannot always make wines when we want to, however if we prepare, we can then set about making these wines in quieter parts of the year.  You can only do this though if you have taken the time to dry the required items beforehand.  So, dry those Rosehips and keep some on the Pantry shelf.

I will also be making homemade Rosehip and Crab-apple Jelly as I managed to locate quite a few small Crab-apples on the same day I harvested the Rosehips.

Catch you all later.

Pattypan

x

P.S.  Just a little update now that the Rosehips have been in the sugar for a couple of days on the bathroom windowsill.  Most of the sugar had gone runny in the process and had left a few hips uncovered so to be on the safe side I added in a little extra sugar.  However, it is looking very promising.