Rose hip Syrup

Its the time of year when the garden is full of rose hips. The variety that seems to ripen earliest is the rosa glauca, the most beautiful clear pink single rose with blue-green foliage. In a couple of weeks the hips on the wild rose will be ripe enough and I shall make a second batch. I tend to take no more than half the hips because they make a very welcome meal for the many varieties of wold birds that live here.

A Gimlet made with Rose hip syrup, packed with vitamin C, healthy!

To make a litre of this syrup you will need;
400g of rose hips
2 litres of water
500g of sugar

Begin by topping and tailing the hips, this is a pleasant enough task which is ideal to do while listening to the afternoon play on the home service. Pulse the hips briefly in a food processor to chop them up and place in a stainless steel saucepan with a litre of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain through thin muslin into a large bowl and return the drained hips to the pan, add a second litre of water and repeat the simmering process to extract more goodness from the hips. Drain over night; you should end up with just over a litre of liquid. Add 500g of sugar and gradually bring the mix up to a boil, boil on a medium heat for 10 minutes and pour into sterilized bottles or jars.