Rose Hip Jelly


Rose Hip Jelly

“Can we make rose hip jelly?” asked my young (10) friend Alden as we walked along the beach bordered by sand dunes covered with beach roses.

“These,” she said, pointing to the bright red jaw-breaker sized orbs in the thorny shrubs, “are rose hips. And mom says people make jelly out of them.” We were surrounded by thousands of them.

“Sure!” said I. Thank God for the Internet.

Rose Bushes with Ripe Hips

So, what are rose hips? They are the seed pods of roses; if you leave the flowers alone to wither on the plant instead of picking them, they will produce rose hips. Rose hips are edible (as are rose petals), though you want to make sure to pick rose hips only from roses that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides. Wild beach roses are perfect, as are dog roses and sweet briars.

Alden with Rose Hip

Rose hips do not taste like roses. Their taste is sort of tangy, like hibiscus flowers. If you’ve ever had Red Zinger tea, it’s along that line. Rose hips are an excellent source of vitamin C; I’ve seen references from 8 to 40 times as much C in rose hips as in oranges.

Rose Hip Jelly

So we did, indeed gather buckets full of rose hips from the beach and made a couple batches of jelly and one of jam. Of the two, the kids seemed to prefer the jelly and the adults the jam. The jam is marmalade-ish given that I use an orange and a green apple to help provide pectin. (See Rose Hip Jam for the jam recipe.) The rose hips themselves have very little natural pectin. The jelly recipe uses commercial pectin.

Rose Hips

In doing research for the jelly adventure, several sources mentioned that the rose hips are best picked right after the first frost, when they are the sweetest. We picked them in August, and tried to get them as red all around as we could, and firm, blemish-free.

Have you ever cooked with rose hips? Made tea with them? Jams or Jellies? If so, please share your experiences with us in the comments.


Rose Hip Jelly Recipe

Rose hips have seeds on the inside that are itchy and irritating. You can leave the seeds in if you want, or remove them; they will get strained out if you don't remove them before cooking.

On doing research for the jelly recipe, one source said that the seeds were slightly tannic and recommended removing them. I tried it both ways and noticed practically no difference in the resulting taste. Removing the seeds is rather painstaking, and for the jelly recipe can add an entire hour to the jelly making process.

Do not use aluminum or cast iron to cook the rosehips; use stainless steel or non-reactive cookware.

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts rose hips
  • 6 cups water
  • 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 package SureJell pectin
  • 1/4 teaspoon butter
  • 3 1/2 cups sugar
  • 6 8-ounce canning jars and fresh lids


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