Tired of the run-of-the-mill flavours of jams and jellies that grocery stores offer? Want a cheap yet flavorful alternative? Try rosehip jelly.
Rosehips are the fruit that roses make after they flower and lose their petals. From my days in Girl Guides, I learned that rosehips are a good trail food with their large amount of vitamin C.
My Granny, during the hard war years, once used rosehips as a vitamin supplement for her own child. Only once I started to explore the world of wild edibles did I look again at the rosehip as an ingredient for jelly.
Wild or domesticated roses can be sourced for their rosehips from August to October. After a light frost, they are even sweeter, so waiting for later in the growing season maybe even better. Wild roses can be found throughout natural green spaces, as undergrowth in treed areas. Domesticated roses can be found in landscaped public parks.
Simply pluck the hip off the rose stem and collect it in a container or bag. Watch out for those thorns! They can add a hint of danger to the harvesting adventure.
Utensils:
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collecting container
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sieve
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measuring cup
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measuring spoons
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medium stock pot
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potato masher
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fruit bag
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large bowl
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mixing spoon
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4-pint canning jars
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new jar lids
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jar rings
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jar funnel
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ladle
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small sauce pot
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stock pot
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washcloth
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canning tongs
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tongs
Ingredients:
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10 cups rosehips
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5 cups water
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4 cups sugar
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½ cup lemon juice
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1 packet pectin
Directions:
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Collect the rosehips in your collection container.
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Wash and drain them in the sieve. Remove the bud and stem, and discard any that may have scabs on them. These have a worm inside.
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Place the hips into a stock pot with the water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 min.
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Mash the softened hips with a potato masher. Then place the pulp into the berry bag and squeeze out as much of the juice into a large bowl as you can. The juice is what you will be making jelly with. Discard the seeds and hip pulp. Make sure you get all the seeds out of the juice. They can cause irritation to the throat if ingested.
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Measure out the juice to make 4 cups. Use water to make up for any shortage you may have.
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Put the juice back into the stock pot, adding in the pectin and lemon juice.
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Bring to a hard boil, constantly stirring to avoid scorching the bottom.
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Add in the sugar, stirring to dissolve.
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Let the mixture come back to a boil for 1 min.
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While you are waiting for the hips to boil and the other steps of the jelly making to happen, wash the pint jars, lids and rings in hot soapy water.
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Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and place the clean jars inside for 10 min. to sanitize.
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Place the new, clean lids in the sauce pot, cover them with water and let it come to boil to both soften the rubber rings and sanitize them.
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Half fill the stock pot with water, place a clean dish cloth at the bottom and get it boiling.
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Once the pints are ready, and the jelly has come to its last boil, pour the jelly into the jars with the aid of the jar funnel and ladle.
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Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a damp, clean paper towel and seal tight with a lid and ring.
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Once the stock pot has begun to boil, reduce the temperature to medium/high, and place the jars into the hot water bath with the jar tongs onto the dishcloth. The dishcloth keeps the glass jars from rattling against the hot metal bottom of the pot, and helps prevent cracking the jars.
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If the jars are not fully submerged with an inch of water covering the lids, add more water.
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Once the water bath has returned to a boil, let it boil for 10 min, before removing the jars from the stock pot.
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Let the jars cool overnight to set.
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Check to see if they both sealed and set by gripping the jar by the lid, ring removed. If the lid does not come off, and is concave, the seal has worked. If you tilt the jar and the jelly does not immediately slide to the side, it jelled. If it does run to the side, you have a nice pancake syrup. Label and date your jars and store them for future use over the winter.
The hot water bath can be replaced with a pressure cooker canning or sealing the jars with thick discs of paraffin wax.
Rosehips are easy to find and easy to work with. With a little effort, you can enjoy some locally sourced vitamin C-rich jelly that has a gentle rosy flavour.
