Rose hip syrup / 1995

Botanical name: 
Rosa
Rosa rugosa
Preparations: 
Jelly

Date: Sat, 14 Oct 1995 23:19:19 +0000
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: christopher hedley <christopher.GN.APC.ORG>
Subject: re Rose Hips

Rosa rugosa and sweet briars make excellent rose hip syrup.

Simmer the fruit in enough water to cover until soft. Strain off and retain the water. Push the fruit through a sieve with the back of a spoon to extract the pulp from the seeds. Throw the seeds away. Add the pulp to the retained water. Measure. Add 2 lbs of sugar to every 1 pint of the mix. Heat gently, stirring all the time, until the sugar is dissolved. Don't skimp on the sugar, it is needed to preserve. If this is too sweet for your taste then add the juice of a lemon or two.

I don't know how much vitamin C is left after all this, but it must be an appreciable amount, since rose hips were collected for this purpose during the war, when oranges were in short supply.

The syrup makes a good base for medicines... 'tis just a pity that so many people are sensitive to sugar, from overuse, these days.

Christopher Hedley

Date: Mon, 16 Oct 1995 12:52:05 +0000
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: MARTIN <LEEUWEN.ELENOV1.AUCKLAND.AC.NZ>
Subject: Rose Hip Pulp preparation

Hi In many villages in the Netherlands they have shrubs of Rugosa along the roads & in many parks. For many years I use to pick them on a Sunday, prepared them heat them and sieve them as Christopher explained. Except I never used sugar but let it cool down put it in freezer bags or containers in portions that last a week and put them in the deepfreeze. The longer you wait to pick them the higher the Vit C and sugar content. I waited untill the outer skin alsmost started to become soft.
As I did not wanted to lose too much I used very little water. Just enough to cover the rosehips.

The pulp was obviously very thick. Another way to do is add lemon as Christopher suggested.

Put the hot pulp straight into a jar. Put spirit or brandy on the inside of the lid, light it and while the alcohol is burning turn the lid very quickly onto the jar as tight as possible the oxygen will burn away inside the jar and the jar is sealed and keep for a long time. The above prevent further Vit. C loss and does away with sugar.

All the best
Martin van Leeuwen