Ministry of Food Recipe for Rosehip Syrup 1943!

Recipe

The directions given by the Ministry of Food during the war for 2 pounds (900gm) of hips.

Method

Boil 3 pints (1.7 litres) of boiling water.

Mince hips in a course mincer (food processor) and put immediately into the boiling water.

Bring to boil and then place aside for 15 minutes.

Pour into a flannel or linen crash jelly bag and allow to drip until the bulk of the liquid has come through.

Return the residue to the saucepan, add 11/2 pints (852ml) of boiling water, stir and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Pour back into the jelly bag and allow to drip.

To make sure all the sharp hairs are removed put back the first half cupful of liquid and allow to drip through again.

Put the mixed juice into a clean saucepan and boil down until the juice measures about 11/2 pints (852ml), then add 11/4 (560gm) of sugar and boil for a further 5 minutes.
Pour into hot sterile bottles and seal at once.


Hints:

If corks are used these should have been boiled for hour just previously and after insertion coated with melted paraffin wax.

It is advisable to use small bottles as the syrup will not keep for more than a week or two once the bottle is opened.

Store in a dark cupboard.



Source: The Hedgerow Harvest, MoF, 1943 


The resulting syrup can be used as a flavouring for milk puddings, ice-cream or almost any sweet, or diluted as a drink.

Rosehip Syrup - Recipe 1

Rosehips produce their wonderful berries much later than many other plants.

I picked these on the last day of October.

Don't pick all of them on the bush as birds rely on them for food during the winter.
















Wash about a kilo of berries and break off the stalks.

Rosehips put through a juicer!

I use a juicer (thanks VK) and it chops up the rosehips beautifully.
It would make more sense to buy a large and powerful hand blender

The chopped rosehips should be put into 1.75 litres of boiling water, 

Do this as quickly as possible as the vitamin C begins to break down as soon as the rosehips are damaged

Boiling syrup

Once the chopped rosehips are boiling, turn off the gas and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Then pour the mixture through a jelly bag - or, if you don't have one, you can use a pair of (clean) tights, or, as I did, use a clean tea towel.

Put the chopped rosehips back in the pan, add another litre of water and repeat the straining process.

You could probably do this three times and still get goodness out of the rosehips.

The syrup that comes out looks remarkably like tomato soup.

Add about 750g of sugar and bring to the boil again.

No need to boil away for hours.

Once the syrup is boiling, you can start bottling it.

Rosehip syrup - does look like tomato soup

Bottle the rosehip syrup in sterilized bottles.

Best to use small ones as the syrup will go off if the bottle is open for too long.

Store in a cool, dark place and refrigerated after opening.

It is a delicious drink either hot or cold - dilute to taste.

You can also use it as a sweetener on your muesli or in your home-made ice cream.