Published on Dec 15, 2020 | Last updated on Jan 2, 2023
After sharing on Instagram about my first trials making Rose Hip Syrup, you asked me if I could share the recipe with you… well, of course I can! Rose hip syrup is super easy to make, and very nutritious too as rose hips are incredibly rich in vitamin C! Thus, I couldn’t be happier to share with you my own version of how to make this delicious and medicinal syrup.
Harvesting Rose Hips
So far, I have only worked with Dog Rose hips (Rosa canina) for syrup. As always, it is important to know how to identify wild edible plants and fruits correctly, so make sure you learn about Rosa canina before you start collecting her berry-like hips. If you are unsure about how Dog Rose looks like, this website is a good place to start.
Here in Portugal, the fruits start to be ready for harvest in late September. However, the best time to harvest them is after the first frost, which for us in Portugal usually means waiting a couple of weeks more, depending on where we live in the country.
My latest bottle of syrup was made with rose hips harvested in the beginning of December in the region of Foz Côa, and the hips were so much sweeter than in September! Their colour was not bright orange anymore, but more like a dark red, and many looked a bit wrinkled too. Some were already fermented, so I avoided those. Also ignored the super dark ones that were too burned by the cold and dry inside. To avoid harvesting unripe hips, my favourite method is to listen to Rosa by gently pulling the hip and seeing if she releases herself easily. If not, I simply move on to the next hip.
Something important to mention is that I like to spread my foraging activity over a large area to include different shrubs and I only harvest a fraction of the hips of each Rosa canina, to leave plenty behind for birds and other animals who depend on them during Winter. I also like to ask for permission – which can be as simple as taking the time to connect with Rosa and carefully observe if that particular shrub is healthy and abundant enough to be harvested from as well as if this is the only individual in the area – and in the end I like to say thank you to show my appreciation for the gift offered (we can also go a step forward and ask/check how we can help that particular shrub/community to thrive).
If you’d like to know more about ethical foraging, I found this page on responsible foraging guidelines particularly helpful and straight to the point.
Rose Hip Syrup Recipe
This recipe is based on The Spruce Eats‘ recipe, with a few adjustments. I managed to fill a big glass bottle (as seen in the last photo)!
Ingredients
- 2 cups with rose hips
- 4 cups of water
- aprox. 1,3 cup of muscovado (or brown) sugar
Method
- Wash your rose hips thoroughly;
- Remove the stems and flower remnants, and cut the rose hips in half;
- Place the rose hips in a pot and cover them with 2 cups of water;
- Bring the rose hips to a boil, then remove from heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes;
- Strain the rose hips with a piece of clean cloth or a jelly bag (I went with the clean cloth and it worked fine);
- Add the rose hip pulp back to the pot, add the other 2 cups of water and repeat the previous steps of steeping and straining the liquid;
- In a clean pot, pour your rose hip tea and add the sugar. Feel free to experiment with the sugar quantity to adapt to your personal taste. Bring it back to a boil while mixing and it’s done!
- Sterilize the glass bottle (including lids/corks) with boiling water;
- Pour your syrup into your bottle with the help of a funnel (also sterilized).
There you go! You’ve made delicious Rose Hip Syrup! Delight yourself with this drink from the gods, and in case you find it too concentrated, you can always add a little bit of water to your cup to dilute it ♥︎
I hope you enjoyed this recipe and that this syrup gives you an extra boost during the colder Winter months. If you give it a try, please share it with me in the comment section bellow or else tag me on instagram! I’d love to know how it goes and how you liked it♥︎
Last but not least, if you’ve enjoyed this, make sure to check out my other recipes, such as:
- Delicious Homemade Elderflower Cordial Recipe
- How to make White Crowberries’ Jelly (Camarinhas)
- Homemade Blackberry Jam (no sugar | no pectin)
- How to make Black Mulberry Jam
Much love and take care, Filipa 🍂
