Katey’s Rosehip Syrup recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cordials and Syrups | 224 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.
Leave a reply
Hi Rose, well done for trying!! It doesn’t matter about the colour as long as it tastes good!!!
A cool cupboard should be fine.
When you have opened it, keep it refrigerated, but then you can use it for all sorts of things!! We use it to drizzle on pancakes…a good excuse to make them!! My kids love it!!
I have drizzled it over pork for the last half hour of roasting and it gives a lovely flavour to the crackling! Same for Chicken too!
Its amazing how quickly you will empty that jar and have to open another one, so don’t fret!!!
This is now a good excuse to start saving smaller jars for your next batch next year!
Enjoy!
Hi
Just to say I am so pleased with the Rosehip Syrup I have made with your recipe 🙂
Not sure if the colour is supposed to be as deep red as it is? It is clear tho….and it sure tastes good…
So I can keep it for a year in a cool cupboard? If in the fridge? How long will it keep? Cos only had pasta sauce jars and it’s quite much to consume in a short time…
Thanks again
Rose
Glen
Don’t bother going to the expense of buying jars/bottles, recycle!!! Ask your neighbours, family and friends to save them for you. Over a year you will be amazed at the amount that will be stored in a shed/garage! You can then get busy sorting, washing and sterilising them ready for your autumn tasks like jam making, pickling onions etc. As a ‘Thank You’ I then present a jar to everyone that has contributed which pleases the donor and encourages them to save more for you!!!
Thank you fn for the idea of the vodka infused Sea Buckthorn!! Can’t wait to try!!! I will let you know how it goes. [The berries have an orangey aroma, then as you bite into the berry there is a slightly sour aftertaste. Like Marmite you love it or hate it!!!]
Ray Mears says that our ancestors were most grateful for them during the winter months, as they have so much vitamin C in them.
The Damson Gin I made from 2 years ago tastes wonderful! The book I had the recipe from suggests that it tastes better after 7 years!! Ever tried waiting that long?
Thanks to Kev for the idea to add honey. I will try both and see which is the better!!
I must add that this year has been a disaster for Damsons and Sloes, but not for Apples, Hawthorn, Rosehips or Rowanberries. I have made lots of stewed Apple and frozen it, all picked for free locally. [I believe in getting food for free and have done it since I was child, like my mother showed me! With the current financial crisis, more people should do so too!!]
Hawthorn Jelly is lovely, but lots of work for the yield that you get.
Rowanberry Jelly has, so far, been a pain to do as there is still a bitter taste, but one day I will get it right!! Any suggestions would be gratefully received, as I have tried loads of different recipes, with similar results.!!!!
Cheers everyone!
My guess is that if you make it using honey, it will not go off so quickly, as honey has natural anti-bacterial properties which is the reason it has been used for embalming and wound-dressing, and also the reason you see mould around jam-jar lids but not on honey jars. You could also maybe try adding Sage or Lavender to the recipe (at the heating stage, then strain off along with the pulp) as these have a similar effect and can add a nice taste too.
Hi Lynn
Hope that it turned out well for you.
Hi Gary
Primrose has answered your question about the yield.
It goes off fairly quickly so you need to make it and seal it in small bottles, refrigerate once opened – opened it will last a couple of weeks in the fridge.
Hi Primrose
Thanks for your advise. I can’t answer all the comments that are coming in at the moment as my time is very limited.
I’ve never tasted Sea Buckthorn. Preserving it in vodka or gin would work as it does with most fruit. Only for six months or so.
Hi Glen
Talk to your local pub. A lot of mixers come in glass bottles with screw tops that would be perfect for syrup.
Hello.
Thank you so much for such a delightful and entertaining website.
My wife is thinking of making Rosehip Syrup and other wonderful things as we live in the country.
Could anyone help with a source for small bottles such as a store or website.
Again our thanks.
Kind Regards–Glen
I must say that your site is very interesting and felt I had to reply to a question from Gary. Rose Hip Syrup has a small yield to the amount of hips that are collected, so you may get about 5 or 6 jars of about 280g capacity ie jars of shop-bought apple sauce size. I usually use jars to keep the syrup in, as its more difficult to find suitable bottles.
The syrup will have a distinctive aroma when it has gone off!!
We also have some Sea Buckthorn bushes locally and my family and me regularly eat the berries straight from the bushes. They are an acquired flavour though and I would love to find a recipe to preserve them…maybe in alcohol?!
Hi, I have 2 questions – how much syrup do you end up with by following your recipe? Just so I know what quantity of bottles/jars I need to gather.
My aunty used to make this and I remember her pouring it from a demi-john onto a big spoon for us all. I assumed it must keep well as she kept this demi-john in a pantry and I’m sure it would have been around for a while….. How do you tell if it’s gone off?
Thank you so much for this. I am about to try for the first time. We had to cut a hedge down and it seemed such a waste to throw away the hips.
Hi Rachel
The seeds don’t impart a bitterness and they help the set so leave them in! All our recipes ae tried and tested.