Unlike last time, the smell of the rose hips stewing on their own was fruity and appetising. The taste too of the final product makes me realise I probably was dosed on rose hip syrup as a child in the 1970s.
500g rose hips
500g apples (crab, eating, cooking)
1 small lemon
About 500g sugar
Small knob of butter
Wash then simmer your rosehips in 1 pint of water for 40 minutes with the lid on until soft. Leave to cool and then mash as best you can or chop in a food processor.
Roughly chop the apples. There is no need to peel or core as you will be straining the cooked fruit through a jelly bag. I simply added mine to the food processor with the rosehips.
Add 1 more pint of water to the pan together with the chopped rosehips and apple and bring to the boil with wide strips of lemon peel. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the apple is soft.
Strain through a jelly bag overnight. The strained liquid will look worryingly cloudy, and more like cream of prawn soup. Don't worry! This clears once the sugar is added.
Measure out the strained juice, adding 400g of sugar to every 500ml of liquid. Bring to the boil gently to dissolve the sugar then turn up the heat and boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Check to see if the jam has reached setting point by placing a teaspoonworth on a saucer that's been in the freezer. If still runny after cooling for a minute or so, boil the jelly for another 10 minutes then check again. I took mine off the heat too soon because I was in a hurry and ended up with a quite lovely rosehip syrup like maple syrup! So based on this experience, it could take 20 minutes plus to reach setting point!
Take off the heat and stir in a small knob of butter to clarify the jelly. Pour into sterilised jars and seal with lids that have been boiled to sterilise.
If you do end up with a syrup like I did, just use it with pancakes, porridge, ice cream etc.
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