ROSE HIP SYRUP

Determined to get on with the Autumn task of preserving as much fruit and veg as possible I did a trade off with my son, he would cook breakfast and dinner and I would spend the day making chutney blanching apples and making that old favourite rose hip syrup.

It was lovely to sit down to a breakfast cooked b y some one other than myself. I must say that these days my son often cooks breakfast,he makes the best toast I have ever eaten. As soon as the meal was over and the dishes done I headed out into the lanes armed with a large bowl and a small pair of scissors,I did not have to search for long.

It has been a bumper year for fruit both cultivated and wild and this years rose hips are large and juicy. I picked all I wanted,picking up the usual thorns in my fingers(no gain without pain) I cut of the stalks and the beards as I picked. From time to time I was accosted by passers by interested in my activities,rose hips are an underestimated resource these days,yet it was not always so.

During the Second World War country children were encouraged to gather all the rose hips they could find,these would then be collected, made in to rose hip syrup and given free to mums with young children. During my own childhood in the fifties rose hip syrup was a part of our winter diet and we were given a large spoonful each morning before we set off for school. Here endeth the history lesson!

ROSE HIP SYRUP

1 Ib Rose hips

1 lb sugar

a pint and a half of water

put the sugar and water into a large saucepan and boil gently until the sugar has dissolved. Wash and halve the rose hips then add to the sugar syrup . Part cover the saucepan and simmer for at least an hour adding more boiling water has needed.

When the hips are squashy strain the liquid through a fine sieve then mash the rose hips through the sieve. Stir well to blend the pulp with the liquid then return to the heat and boil for about two minutes.

Remove from the hear and allow to cool. Store in sterilised bottles.

For a modern use of this old fashioned treat try pouring it over iced cream or blitzing in a blender with milk and a scoop of iced cream to make an unusual milk shake. The syrup makes a soothing hot drink for those suffering from colds and flue and finally try a tablespoon of the syrup in a shot of vodka the top up with lemonade and ice if you like.