Rosehip Syrup

I’ve wanted to try making something with rosehips for ages, the hedges around my office in the Ouseburn are packed with blackberries, rosehips and elderberries at the moment, and I’ve been starting to get anxious that they would be gone before I had a chance to experiment. It’s been a busy few months with lots and lots of dining events, but I have finally found time.

I picked a bag of rosehips one night when I left the office and headed home to experiment. I have a lovely preserves book by Pam Corbin, which has all the answers with what to do with autumnal berries. Rosehips are packed with vitamins A and C, you can make jams, jellies, wine and tea with them and this syrup, which I might use for puddings at some point, but I’m much more likely to use for cocktails...

I knocked up a big bottle full for the guys at Ouseburn Coffee Company, who made a prosecco, rosehip syrup and coffee vodka cocktail for Urban Night Feast... They made me try it at 10am the other morning... it was bloody lovely, but not the hour for vodka and prosecco, one sip went straight to my head!

I’m thinking Gin, soda and Rosehip Syrup... Just with water it is lovely as a cordial, or with soda, you can also have it with hot water as a warming winter drink. I’ve also got ideas that it might be nice in a posset, rosehip and blackberry posset, I’ll have to try that asap...

I probably had about three large handfuls of hips, about 500g. Wash them carefully, getting rid of dirt, chaff and bugs. Then blitz in a food processor until quite fine and add to a pan of about 800ml of boiling water. Bring back to the boil briefly and then let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then pour through a jelly bag or muslin, or as I improvised kitchen roll over a sieve... Then leave to drip for an hour.

Then repeat the process by adding the pulp back to another 800ml of boiling water, bring back to the boil, then the recipe says to let it sit for another 15 minutes, but I let one batch sit overnight and got a much stronger syrup, so leave as long as you can. Then drain again for an hour.

Finally combine both lots of strained juice, it should be about 900ml, pour into a pan and add 600g of granulated sugar and heat until dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes then pour into a sterilised bottle or jars. It will keep for about 4 months.

I’ll keep you posted on my cocktail experiments... mmm...