Homemade Rosehip syrup

As you will already have seen from my previous post I've gotten into foraging in a big way, finding lots of new recipes to try for each new food I forage. Well today I'm making something I have never tried before and I don't really have a clue what it will taste like either.

I have been telling friends at work about my recent foraging and jam making activities, one of the women who lives in a beautiful rural area called Entwistle was telling me about how she used to pick fruits and make jam, I promised to bring in some of the elderberry and crap apple jam that I made and the next week she came in with a hedgerow jam for me - I'd inspired her to go out and forage then make some jam! The jam contained all the fruits that are available, blackberries, rowan berries, haws, crab apples, rosehips and elderberries it was delicious. 

She said that she would like to try making blackberry and sloe recipe but she did not know where to find some. I said I would pick her some and she said would pick me some rosehips from her garden they were rosa rugosa hips that unlike the rosehips you generally see in hedgerows it was much bigger and fatter, apparently they are a better flavour. 

This week I am suffering from a cold, chesty cough and a sore throat- the first of the autumn season and as it hasn't even been very cold yet it doesn't bode well! Apparently rosehip syrup is well known for its medicinal properties. It's high in vitamins A, C and D as well as being full of antioxidants.

I found this recipe on another blog...

 http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/kateys-best-rosehip-syrup-recipe-121/

It seemed very straight forward so I decided to give it ago! 

Wash the rosehips (and if my sisters are reading this - yes they are the things we used to break open and put in the seeds down each other's backs as itching powder when we were little!!!)

Mince them in the food processor 

Add to a pan of boiling water, bring to boil then take off heat to infuse for 15 mins. 

Strain through a muslin cloth and put the pulp back into the pan with more water, boil then leave for 15mins and strain again.

Do you like how I have hung the muslin cloth up to strain? 

I had no idea what I was going to use for hanging it up but Matthew put a hook discreetly under the cupboard and it works wonderfully. 

When the juice has drained out, put back into the pan add the sugar and boil for 5 mins.

Decant into sterilised bottles....which is were I came unstuck ... I had some Kilner bottles with the swing top lid but I hadn't sterilised bottles before, only jars, so I just did it in the same way as the jars by washing it then putting it in a low oven, I'm not sure what I did or if those bottles are meant to be sterilised like that.. it must have been too high because the plastic on the lid melted ....oops!

                Sterilising bottles...fail 😟

I've not got anymore bottles so I had to use these ones but put wine bottle stoppers in!

The finished product..and actually tastes lovely and if it helps my cold to get better then that will be great!

Thanks for reading, 

Abigail xxx