Rose hips are one of the most popular foraged fruits, offered for free from nature’s larder. They are the fruit of the wild rose, and gathering them is all part of the fun. They should be picked fully ripe, when a deep red color, and preferably after the first frosts, which soften them. If picked a little earlier, they can be placed, freshly picked, in the freezer overnight to give the same result as if they had been nipped by the frost. Rose hip nectar has a high vitamin C content and is so sweet and delicious that it is a great way of encouraging children to boost their vitamin intake effortlessly.
MAKES: about 2½ cups
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 cups rose hips, freshly gathered
- sugar (for quantity see step 5)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Place the rose hips in a pan and mash them with the back of a spoon to break them down. Pour boiling water over them, to cover, and simmer for 5 minutes until the hips are soft.
- Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes, then strain the mixture through a jelly bag, collecting the juice in a measuring pitcher. Set the juice aside.
- Remove the pulp from the jelly bag and place it in the pan. Add 2 cups water and bring the mixture to the boil, then repeat step 2, but this time squeezing out the excess liquid from the pulp.
- Combine both pitchers of juice in the pan and boil the mixture to reduce it by approximately a third to a half.
- Add ½ rounded cup sugar for every 1 cup juice and stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Bring just to the boil, then remove quickly from the heat.
- Pour the nectar into clean, clip-top or corked bottles and sterilize, or pour into freezer containers, seal, and freeze.
