A few days ago I spent a lovely afternoon with my friend Deborah making rosehip jam from a stash that were picked last month and stored in the freezer. I noted on my walk yesterday that there are still a fair few rosehips about, though they are starting to look thin on the ground, so I thought I would share this recipe with you before it gets too late to make it. Rosehips are always better after a frost anyway and it is only in the last week that we have had hard frosts in this part of the country. If you pick your rosehips before the frost then you can always pop them in the freezer like I did to sweeten them up a little.
To make this recipe you need only four ingredients; rosehips, half a lemon, sugar and water and the method is simplicity itself. What is a little challenging is halving and de-seeding your hips before you begin which can be a surprisingly lengthy process so make sure you have allotted a good amount of time for it and perhaps enjoy it as a relaxing task whilst listening to music or watching a film. To do this you just need to cut the stems and bases off the hips, then slice them in half and scoop out the seeds and little irritating hairs which can make your hands itch after a while.
Method:
- Begin by adding just enough water to cover the de-seeded rosehips (add too much and the resulting jam will be too runny) and bringing to a slow simmer.
- Allow them to continue simmering for about 20 minutes, mashing regularly with a potato masher.
- You should have a nice thick pulpy liquid at the end of this time which you now want to push through a sieve. You really just want to catch all the odd seeds and hard bits of hip that inevitably get missed in the preparation, though you will end up losing a little of the pulp of course too.
- Weigh the rosehip pulp and put it back in the pan with an equal amount of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. 1kg of rosehip pulp and 1 kg of sugar will make about 6 to 8 average sized jars.
- Bring to a gentle boil for about 10 minutes or unti the jam has thickened to your desired consistency. Try to avoid boiling for too long though as you don’t want to destroy too much of the precious vitamin C that rosehips are so rich in.
- Transfer the finished jam to sterilised jars and enjoy spread lavishly on your bread/ crackers of choice.
I hope you enjoy the last of the seasons wild fruits before winter tightens its grip. For more lovely jam making recipes and tips see this post on the Herbarium by Carol Church whose jams are the finest around, as I can attest from personal experience!
Yum yum 🙂 I can smell it from here xxx I wish Dylan and I could have found more of the rosehips we found at the edge of the woods… he said they tasted like strawberries, and we stood there and just ate everyone of them, spitting out the seeds:) He was right! They did taste like strawberries! The ones I brought home I used in a syrup with our hawthorn berries, which tastes suprisingly like pears! I was too lazy to process more honey for the syrup and used demerara sugar and it smelled so lusciously spicy cooking.
Thank you for sharing your simple lovely recipe. I will save this one for next year.. unless I run across another wild rose hip patch ;^) love and hugs to you
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Yum, pears and strawberries, I will think of that when I am eating my jam. 🙂
It has been a terrible year for some berries this year but we have had a good supply of rosehips around this area, for which I am grateful.
Love to you xx
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I love me a good jar of rosehip jam! This recipe looks especially delicious and I’m adding it to my December to do list. Sounds like the perfect activity for a blustery day. BTW – Your photos are so striking – I just love that vivid red and green in the landscape this time of year. It’s so cheery to see! XOXO
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I loved those colours together too, they were taken on a very bright day and the rosehips looked like they were glowing off the branches.
The thought of having the jam to nourish us through the winter makes me happy too. 🙂 I wish I had made more but those hips do take so long to process!
Lots of love xx
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Wow, it looks beautiful and sounds wonderful. I need to find a good sources around here for rosehips.
Michael
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It is very yummy, and so simple to do which is always a bonus in my book! Good luck finding your rosehips.
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Thank you so much for your wonderful images and recipe. I look forward to reading your blog in the future.
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Thanks Alexis, I hope you enjoy it. x
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We are just finishing autumn here in Melbourne, Australia so I am going to give your recipe a go…will let you know!
Gayle
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Great. Enjoy the autumn harvests and let me know what you think of the jam. 🙂
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Didn’t have time to wait for the first frost… I picked them a week ago.. they where red and soft… I made your recipe, and the jam turned out FABULOUS… from 20 litres of rosehips, I got 20 jars of jam…( 250 ml)…. then I still had the juice left from boiling the rosehips, and I made rosehip syrup… It turned out great, had it on pancakes this morning….
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Mmmm pancakes and rosehip syrup, that sounds like a wonderful way to start the day. 🙂
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those are hawthorns in your pictures.
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No they are definitely rosehips! Look at the leaves and you will see. It is clearer in the last picture. 🙂
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Tom needs to get a good book on flowering shrubs,they are definitely rosehips.
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Can you only use hips from wild roses? Have loads of rises in my garden & was wondering if I could use these?
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You can happily use rosehips from your garden as long as they haven’t been sprayed or treated in any way. 🙂
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Lots of inspiration and lovely ideas on your blog! Thanks for the recipe- exactly what I was looking for as I’ve been seeing lots of rosehips on my daily walks and wondered how I might be able to use some!
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What happens after you put the jam into the bottles? Do you have to boil the bottles, or do they have to be kept in the freezer? If I give them to other people, how long can the jam be eaten, or stay unspoiled? Thank you so much!
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Hi Ann,
Sorry for the late reply! If you sterilise your jars before use by boiling them or putting them in the oven and then allowing them to cool you don’t need to do anything once the jam goes into them. It needs to be kept in the fridge but not the freezer. They last easily for six months. 🙂
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What is the rosa variety in the picture?
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It’s Rosa canina, the wild dog rose.
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