This week at club wild we headed to the hedgerows to harvest the bright red hips of the wild dog rose (Rosa canina). The rosebush is so jaggy it nearly caught us. Liam says it needs to be this jaggy to protect itself from birds eating the rosehips.
Rosehip syrup became very popular during World War II when government scientists discovered that weight for weight they have 20 times more vitamin C than oranges. The Department of Food recommended rosehip syrup and a generation of children began to have a daily dose.
During World War II, a national week for the collection of rosehips was established in late September. In 1941 this produced a 200 ton haul of hips which made 600,000 bottles of commercially produced syrup.
The syrup was traditionally boiled but Hurriyiah pointed out that in boiling the vitamins might be lost. To keep all the Vitamin C, and also Vitamins A, D and E, we can make a raw syrup. Here is our recipe for Raw Rosehip Syrup.
• Rosehips topped and tailed, scored or pricked with a fork
•Caster sugar
•Sterilized jars
Make a layer of rosehips at the bottom of the jar then cover with a layer of caster sugar. Keep doing this until the jar is full.
Leave the jar for about two weeks on a sunny window, turning every day. The sugar will draw out the liquid from the hips and make beautiful red-orange colour of syrup.
After two weeks or longer if it needs, strain the liquid through a fine muslin cloth and pour into sterilized bottles. The rosehip syrup can be taken as medicine but tastes amazing on pancakes, waffles, yogurt and ice cream 😊
