Collect wild rose hips and turn them into a memorable and unique jelly.
“Can we make rose hip jelly?”
And mom says people make jelly out of them."
Elise Bauer
We were surrounded by thousands of them.
Thank God for the Internet.
A Quick Rose Hip Primer
So, what are rose hips?
Elise Bauer
Wild beach roses are perfect, as are dog roses and sweet briars.
Rose hips do not taste like roses.
Their taste is sort of tangy, likehibiscus flowers.
Elise Bauer
If you’ve ever had Red Zinger tea, it’s along that line.
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.
Elise Bauer
The rose hips themselves have very little natural pectin.
The jelly recipe uses commercial pectin.
I tried it both ways and noticed practically no difference in the resulting taste.
Elise Bauer
Do not use aluminum or cast iron to cook the rosehips; use stainless steel or non-reactive cookware.
Cut off the scraggly ends and discard.
Place the rose hips in a large, non-reactive pot.
Elise Bauer
Add 6 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
Cover and cook for 1 hour (or longer), until rose hips are soft and mashable.
Elise Bauer
Use a potato masher to mash up the rose hips into a rough puree.
Transfer the rose hip mixture into the jelly bag/strainer/cheesecloth.
Let strain into the bowl for at least an hour.
Elise Bauer
Squeeze the jelly bag or cheesecloth to get more remaining juice out.
You’ll need 5 to 6 half-pint canning jars and lids.
Sterilize the jars using the method you prefer.
Elise Bauer
Wash the lids in hot, soapy water.
Place 3 cups of the rose hip juice in a large, wide pot.
Add the lemon juice and pectin.
Elise Bauer
Bring to a boil, dissolving all of the pectin.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the butter.
Bring to a hard boil (one that you could not reduce by stirring).
Elise Bauer
The mixture will bubble up considerably.
Boil for exactly 1 minute.
Remove the pot from heat and pour off into hot canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace from the rim.
Place clean lids on the jars secure fingertip-tight.
Process the jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.
To process, place the jars on a rack in a large, tall stock pot.
Cover with 1 inch of water and bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.
Then turn off the heat, remove the jars from the water, and let cool.
As the jars cool you should hear a popping sound as the lids seal.
The lids should seal; if not, store in the refrigerator.
Simple Tip!
Once opened, refrigerate the jars for up to 6 months.
