Katey’s Rosehip Syrup recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cordials and Syrups | 225 comments
August rose hips in our garden
As a child this delight and a daily spoonful of rosehip syrup heralded the start of winter. At home we queued up, in order of age, as my mother doled out the syrup from a small bottle. She called it medicine. I’m sure that this is why it took me ages, as an adult, to consider trying rosehip syrup again. I discovered that homemade rosehip syrup is delicious and worth making. It is a good natural source of vitamin C. It also contains vitamins A, D and E, and antioxidants.
We have two large rose bushes growing on the east wall at the back of the cottage, that produce hundreds of hips each year. We use these to make apple and rosehip jelly in October. When the hips are softened by November frosts, we make syrup. Lots of it. We give a few bottles away to friends who are laid up with bad colds but most of our giant batch is guzzled by us throughout the winter. It tastes too good to be earmarked solely for the sick bed. Danny loves it stirred into creamy yoghurt or swirled over some home made vanilla ice cream. Somewhere in the barn, a demijohn of rosehip wine is still fermenting from last autumn.
If you don’t have roses in your garden there are lots of briar roses in the hedgerows. They are difficult to spot from a car so if you are somewhere rural and have half an hour to spare, it’s well worth walking or cycling along a footpath or a quiet country lane to see what you can find. Try and avoid busy roads as the fruit will have been exposed to exhaust fumes and nasties. Keep a couple of carrier bags in your coat pocket, just in case.
This recipe was given to me by my friend Katey. It is similar to the recipe given out by The Ministry of Food during WW2, although their’s has more sugar. She remembers being frogmarched to pick hips for rosehip syrup as a child. This didn’t put her off, she still makes it today.
Katey’s Rosehip Syrup recipe
Ingredients:
- 4.5 pts of water
- 2 lbs of rosehips
- 1lb of white granulated sugar
Method:
- There is no need to top and tail the rosehips if the liquid is going to be strained through a muslin bag. If you are using a steam juicer, pass the liquid through muslin – it will only take a few minutes.
- Bring 3 pts of water to the boil.
- Mince the rosehips through a course profile mincer (or food processor).
- Transfer the fruit into fast boiling water and bring to the boil again. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes.
- Pour through a sterilised jelly bag/or muslin square (how do I sterilise a jelly bag or muslin square? See Tips and tricks below) and allow the majority of the liquid to drip through.
- Return the pulp to the pan and add 1.5 pts of fresh boiling water and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes.
- Strain through the jelly bag again.
- Pour extracted liquid into a clean saucepan and boil to reduce the liquid to 1.5 pts.
- Add the sugar and boil rapidly fro another 5 minutes. Pour into hot sterile bottles and seal immediately. (How do I sterilise bottles? See Tips and tricks below).
Tips and tricks:
- Use small bottles (we use recycled vinegar bottles) as it only keeps for a week or so once opened. If you don’t want to use bottles the syrup can be frozen in cubes.
- How do I sterilise a jelly bag or muslin square?
Both can be scalded with boiling water. If you are using a clean muslin bag or square you can iron them with a hot iron. This also works with tea cloths.
- How do I sterilise bottles?
The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the syrup, I quickly wash and rinse the bottles and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160? (140? fan-assisted). When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The bottles will stay warm for quite a while. sterilise the lids by boiling these for a few minutes in water.
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Someone mentioned Rowan berries being bitter. They need to be frozen in order to get rid of the bitterness. Either naturally or simply in the freezer.
Hello Jane
I have no idea about the dosage for children, as far as I remeber we all had a dessert spoonfull a day or it could have been a large teaspoon. Sorry to be so vague.
Hi Claire
Thanks for your suggestions re vit C.
Yes rosehips, blackberries and plums are all early this year!
Hi, I’ve collected HUGE rosehips and am going to freeze them first. Just a general question, do you think they are particularly early this year? I’ve been looking through questions and comments on this site and mid August appears very early, they are ripe – no doubt about that!! As a reply to the general Vit C issue, the advice about bringing to boiling point then cooling off is correct. Don’t excessively boil. Some recipes say reduce the syrup by half, some don’t – I’d advise that the reduction in itself will reduce Vit C. Hope that helps!!
Am planning to make Rosehip syrup this year. Can anyone advise me on the dosage for children, I have a seven year old and a fifteen month old baby, is it safe for babies?
Hi Cat Lady
Rosehip syrup is good.
We have a super recipe for crabapples here
https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=470
THANKYOU,FOR THE WONDERFUL RECIPE I WILL BE
COLLECTING ROSE HIPS TO MAKE SOME SYRUP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
WILL MAKE LOVELY PRESENTS!
ANY IDEAS FOR RECIPES FOR CRABAPPLES?
THANKYOU VERY MUCH CAT LADY X
Hello Mike
Thanks so much for this expert advice. Much appreciated.
For those concerned about maximizing vitamin C:
1) Once you mince or bash the rose hips, get them into water immediately, away from oxygen
2) Get them up to boiling as fast as possible. While they are hot but not yet boiling, enzymes activate which begin to rapidly break down the vitamin C. Boiling destroys these enzymes. Boil for 2 minutes to be sure the rose hips are heated sufficiently throughout.
3) Once boiling, the enzymes are denatured (dead). Further boiling may be counter-productive. Remove from heat and let steep as in the recipe.
4) Do not use copper. Copper catalyzes a reaction that breaks down vitamin C.
Also, when straining you might get a clearer result if you capture the first liquid that strains through and you pour it back into the top of the bag to restrain. After the first liquid drains through, the pulp compresses down slightly to form a natural filter, and further liquid comes through clearer. Research “sparging” for more detail on this process.
Hello Linda
This recipe is well worth trying.
Yes, I agree, enjoy but watch the sugar and fat content.
Rosehip syrup….!!!! Bliss in a bottle…. Gotta try the recipe one of the days. With respect to comments about sugar in foods such as jams, syrups and suchlike… Moderation is the key word here. Consider other foods like patisserie of all kinds… Most recipes there are at least half fat to flour for certain pasties. What about the hazards of too much fat in one’s diet? Even sponge cake contains a veritable amount of fat AND sugar. Check nutritional info before you eat, but enjoy treats IN MODERATION, or wise restriction if need be.