Wait for the rosehips

[JeremyinCzechRep]

My website has had loads of hits for people looking for rosehip syrup recipes. If you're in the UK, I don't think the rosehips are ready yet - they are probably still green. I would wait until the first frost - probably the end of October or early november, depending on where you live. The syrup is delicious, and worth the wait. If you need the recipe, here it is: http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/rosehip_syrup.htm

[welshmum]

Thanks for the recipe link. On my last outing I spotted several rosehip bushes. Will definitely be trying your recipe on them as soon as they are ripe.

[JeremyinCzechRep]

Any frosts in the UK yet? The temperature at night is pretty low in the Czech Republic but not yet below zero where I am. I cycled to the next village this morning and saw loads of beautiful rosehips. Looks like it is going to be a good crop this year!

[Kezz]

Given out ground frosts tonight in staffordshire

[Marcus]

Ive been picking rose hips for the past 3 weeks, theres loads of ripe ones near me.....sod waiting for the frosts...chuck em in the freezer !!

[welshmum]

i too am picking rosehips. i have had 8lbs in the last week. there are even some bushes that have passed their prime

[spider8]

Is there any way you can use rosehips without sugar? I'm diabetic so have to be careful.

[spider8]

I've realised just how silly my last comment was........can't make jams, jellies syrups etc., without lots of sugar . I guess a little dollop of jam on toast and a dribble of rosehip syrup on fruit won't be too bad

[phil55494]

As someone who has to think about what I eat because of diabetes, I'd say as long as you know how much sugar (more accurately carbs), you can plan for it. Be that adjust other things to keep your total carb level right or adjust insulin to match the carbs.

So I think I'm saying just go with the recipe and see if you like it, if not change things till its OK.

[Marcus]

I know you can substitute a percentage of the sugar for honey but not all of it.
But from what i know..(my father is diabetic)...honey is still sugar & like all carbs, it will turn into glucose in the blood stream. But because honey is a natural sugar it will metabolize more easily, I know he's also been told its best to avoid jams/jellys that have refined or processed sugars in them.
Perhaps make some rosehip syrup (using honey & unrefined sugar) & use in moderation.

When I make a jam or jelly for my father I usually use as much natural pectin as i can, I heat up some whole (cores & stalks too) small wild apples or crab apples in small amounts of water, when the apples are soft I mash them with a potato masher & then drain the mixture through a J cloth overnight (not force it through) then i use this mix for jams & jellys....but jam & jellys still have sugar in them, just eat in moderation or balance your diet accordingly.

[JeremyinCzechRep]

I went out with a friend last weekend and we picked 6 kilos of rosehips in about 2 hours. One big change is that I tried out some gloves that I bought locally. They are cotton gloves (available from http://tidd.ly/e0dc655a ) that have been dipped in a latex solution. This means they kept my hands warm, but the latex bits on the fingers gave my fingers enough control to pick the rosehips. We made 33 bottles of rosehip syrup - so I'll be giving a lot away to friends. While making the syrup, the bottleneck is the chopping up of the hips. The 'juicer' that I use does a good job of chopping, but has a small capacity. Do other people use blenders? Any particular model you can recommend?

[Treelover]

personally i use my mum's wartime recipe that doesn't actually chop or juice them at all, just squeeze them as you toss them in the jam cauldron to let them break up a bit and use a very fine jellybag. i make mine with less sugar and no pectin to be liquid because i add it to my morning cold prophylactic of cider vinegar and honey [which isn't as disgusting as it sounds] because i have immune deficiency issues and need all the help i can get. the added vit C over the winter is a boost! i use rosa rugosa which i have in the garden and the rambler that decided to revert to being a dog rose and is prettier as such than the original garden rose i bought, lol!