Rose Hip Syrup Recipe (Vitamin C Rich)

Who knew that the lowly rose hips can be made into a sweet syrup that is healthful and tasty at the same time? Traditional rose hip syrup contains more vitamin C than an orange. It also makes a delicious supplement to many dishes.

Jump to:

• Gathering Rose Hips
• How to Make Rose Hip Syrup
• How Can I Serve Rose Hip Syrup?
• Rose Hip Syrup Protected the Children of Britain
• Other Benefits of Rose Hip Syrup (Besides Its Taste)
• Rose Hip Syrup Recipe (Vitamin C Rich)

Gathering Rose Hips

For rose hip syrup, you'll obviously need rose hips. You may be able to forage rose hips from your own garden, or from wild roses.

If you live where wild roses run rampant, and you’re familiar with the big orange, red, or yellow hips they bear in late summer and fall, then you’ve got the makings for syrup. Pick them when they’re red (or orange, or yellow) and ripe.

You’ll need two pounds of rose hips for this recipe, so if you don’t have enough at a time, keep them in a freezer bag in the freezer. Keep adding new hips to it as you gather more until you have your two pounds’ worth.

How to Make Rose Hip Syrup

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ripe rose hips
• 1 pound sugar

Instructions:

• Wash and dry your rose hips, then put them in the freezer overnight to sweeten them.
• Partly defrost rose hips before cooking them.
• Sterilize your glass bottles or jars, their lids, and a funnel in the dishwasher. Or, boil them on the stove like Grandma always did.
• Pulse the partially frozen hips in a food processor until they’re roughly chopped. You might have to do these in batches.
• Add the rose hips to a large pot and put in enough water to cover them.

• Bring the water to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Cover and let the rose hips simmer until they’re tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Take them off the burner and carefully mash them with a potato masher or a wooden spoon. (Be careful – they’re hot.)
• Line a colander or large sieve with clean muslin cloth. (A clean tea towel will work in a pinch – you just need a cloth that will capture all the itchy hairs.) Strain the rose hip mash into a large bowl.
• Squeeze out the remaining juice.
• Return the pulp to the saucepan, add water to cover it, bring to a boil, and simmer again, this time for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Press out the juice again with the sieve and fresh cloth.
• Dump the used mash in the compost.
• Mix the two lots of juice together.
• Wash the sieve and saucepan, line it with a layer of clean muslin, and pour the juice into it. Let it drip. This strains out the tiny itchy hairs that could irritate your mouth, throat, and bottom if not removed.
• Now you have rose hip juice!

• Boil the rose hip juice rapidly until it decreases by about half. Skim off any foam that gathers at the top.
• Take it off the heat. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves, then boil it hard for another 5 minutes.
• Use a sterilized funnel to pour the hot syrup into the bottles. Seal, let them cool, and store them in the fridge.
• This rose hip syrup will keep for about four months. Discard any that starts growing mold.

How Can I Serve Rose Hip Syrup?

Rose hip syrup tastes great when poured over French toast, pancakes, and porridge. It can be a tasty (and cheap!) alternative to maple syrup. Top your ice cream with it – add it to yogurt – and use it to make one of those sweet cocktails.

Serve it at parties by drizzling it over a block of cream cheese and add crackers on the side. Pour it over a nice rice pudding.

Rose Hip Syrup Protected the Children of Britain

In 1941, when Britain was under siege during WWII, and oranges were scarce, the Ministry of Health organized a national drive for rose hip collecting, asking for 500 tons of hips. Those gathering the fruit were paid two shillings for every 14 pounds they brought in. This was made into rose hip syrup so the children of the country could have a daily dose of vitamin C and strengthen their immune systems.

A child who tried the rose hip syrup said, “Lovely. It’s like sweeties!”

There was such great demand for the syrup the first year that the next fall, the Ministry called for 1,500 and 2,000 tons of rose hips, and each county tried to top the others in how many tons of rose hips they could gather.

The program was wildly successful once the supply began to meet demand.

Other Benefits of Rose Hip Syrup (Besides Its Taste)

Not only does rose hip syrup have high vitamin C content, but it’s also loaded with antioxidants, lycopene, and beta-carotene, as well as other valuable vitamins.

It’s a sweet way to get an immunity booster against those winter colds. And it’s just tasty.