Rose Hip Drinks for Health and Enjoyment

In my previous article on making rose hip syrup I mentioned that I freeze it in ice cubes for making cocktails and other beverages. Here are a couple of recipes I find very refreshing and redolent of Summer sunshine in the Winter months. The link to how to make rose hip syrup and also a break down of the medicinal and nutritional values of this exceptional little fruit can be found at the end of this article.

ROSE HIP KIR

Kir is a very popular apéritif drink, traditionally made by pouring white wine or champagne over a fruit liqueur, this is usually black currant. In this part of Normandie we use cider, which is readily available as the whole region (including our own garden) is covered with traditional cider apple orchards.

To make rose hip kefir, place a little rose hip syrup (around ½ to 1" or 1 to 2cm) in the bottom of a tall cocktail glass or similar and fill with chilled cider.

ROSE HIP KEFIR

We add our rose hip syrup in the form of a frozen ice cube to individual glasses of water kefir. Rose hip syrup with this amount of sugar actually freezes very well and can also be firstly frozen in a block and then cut into cubes as the sugar content keeps it easy to slice.

Our kefir recipe is as follows:
3 litres (3 quarts) of Spring water
4 dried apricots or dried figs
6 tablespoons of raw cane sugar/rapadura/sucanat
½ a lemon
2 tablespoons of water kefir grains

 ROSE HIP TEA

Rose hips make a very invigorating tea. Here I'm using fresh ones as they are in season but mostly I dry them and then have a good stock for Winter. Rose hips can be used on their own or they can combine well with other fruit or flowers.

To make rose hip tea add:
2 Fresh or Dried Rose Hips per person and 2 for the tea pot.
If using fresh I would mash them up a little in the tea pot and then put them through a tea strainer, that way you will get a full bodied brew.

Another great medicinal and one which compliments rose hips well is Hibiscus which has some of the same anti-inflammatory properties of rose hips as well as other virtues of its own.  Hibiscus is a flower I buy dried specifically to make tea and also to use as a superb natural colour for cakes, icing, frosting and glazes. You can  get a ready-made mixture of Rose Hip and Hibiscus Tea Bags too.

With these teas and for personal taste you may need to use honey or sugar as a sweetener. I find that Hibiscus, which has a rich ruby colour, has a more pungent taste than the rose hip. It does however very much depend on how ripe the rose hips were when they were picked, In our garden, in the case of rosa rugosa I tend to pick them early as I am competing with the birds both my own and the wild garden ones who use these large fruits as a great source of vitamins and minerals in the Winter months!

ROSE HIP, HIBISCUS & KEFIR SUPPLIES

If you enjoyed this recipe then please feel free to comment and share it with your friends. 

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from an old farmhouse in Normandie,

All the best,
Sue

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Rose Hip Syrup - Good health from the forest garden.

I make rose hip syrup every year and as you can see I have a large amount of the raw material. The rosa rugosa roses in my garden are the easiest to use. I have to be quick though because these, large and luscious fruits...read more

©  Sue Cross 2018

Rose Hip Syrup - Good health from the forest garden. Low sugar recipe for freezing

I make rose hip syrup every year and as you can see I have a large amount of the raw material. The rosa rugosa roses in my garden are the easiest to use. I have to be quick though because these, large and luscious fruits are the first to be taken by the birds. I also use rosa canina the beautiful wild hedgerow rose, which I also cultivate and the prolific rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate' (pictured below), which has self-seeded in various forms all over the garden. This latter has small but delicious little fruits, which are so numerous that I am left with plenty of syrup material, even after the wild birds and my own hens have made inroads into them.

This year however, my main ingredient has been the largish fruits of the beautiful sweet briar which has draped itself over our greenhouse. Meg Merrilies, which is one of the first roses I ever planted here, has lived up to her name. Meg Merrilies aka Jean Gordon, was a famous seeress and a gypsy queen who lived in the Cheviot Hills, a mountain range which crosses the English Scottish borders. I moved her several times after I planted her as she never seemed to do well but since she can now scramble all over the greenhouse and up the pear tree she is happy and blooms and fruits, in profusion.

Rose hips used to be one of the prime sources of Vitamin C during the World Wars when the importation of citrus fruits was restricted. We keep a stock in the freezer, in case of Winter colds. Rose hips have been  used in medicine for over two millennia. The Romans had over 30 conditions which they treated with these fruits and the use of rose hips is a well-known treatment in the present day for various conditions including, anti-inflammatory therapy for osteoarthritis.

Amongst their virtues, rose hips have high levels of Vitamin C and also contain minerals such as calcium and manganese. They are also rich in:

• antioxidant flavenoids, such as tiliroside
• carotenoid pigments, such as lycopene
• plant sterols, 
• tocotrienols 
• anthocyanins
• catechins  plus other polyphenolics or pytochemicals which protect the body against free radical damage and thus aid in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Rose hips also contain 5% pectin and are a traditional diuretic.

We use the syrup in many dishes from ice cream and pancakes to cocktails and cakes. Here's my basic recipe, using less sugar than usual because firstly I think it tastes better and secondly, I freeze it rather than bottle it.

INGREDIENTS

(with US product links) (UK links at bottom of page)

1¼ cups (250g) of Fresh rose hips
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Star Anise
1 Pint (500ml) of water
Approx ½ cup (100g) Raw cane sugar aka rapadura/sucanat or Coconut blossom sugar

METHOD

Put all the ingredients except for the sugar into a pan.

Crush the rose hips with a fork or potato masher. The less ripe ones will crush better when cooked but the reason for doing this is so that the rose hips do not come in contact with the air when they are broken open because otherwise they will lose almost all their Vitamin C content.

Simmer, without a lid for 20 minutes.

Press gently through a fine sieve.

Add the same amount of sugar as liquid (this usually works out around 4oz or 100g) but if you want a thinner syrup add less sugar.

Stir in sugar until it dissolves.

Bring to the boil and leave to cook without stirring until syrup forms in around 5 to 10 minutes.

Leave to cool and if you don't use it all, then freeze it. It freezes really well and can be frozen in an ice cube tray for ease of adding to drinks.

If you enjoyed this recipe then please feel free to comment and share it with your friends. 

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from an old farmhouse in Normandie,

All the best,
Sue

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Rose Hip Syrup Part Two - Drink Recipes

In my previous article on making rose hip syrup I mentioned that I freeze it in ice cubes for making cocktails and other beverages. Here are a couple of recipes I find very refreshing, chock full of phytonutrients and redolent of Summer sunshine in the Winter months....read more

©  Sue Cross 2018