What to do for two weeks when you’ve already been traveling for almost four weeks and your husband has started work? Sebastian and I had two weeks together before he started school and I began work – and one of the adventures we embarked upon in the Danish August was as simple as: Rose Hips.
We had passed by them so many times. Those red, heavy berries on the rosehip bushes. Both those sitting on the white rosehip bushes and those on the pink rosehip bushes. And we had seen them, from when they were small, green buds until they grew large and red, hanging there, like Christmas ornaments in the middle of summer.
The conversation often revolved around what one could possibly use them for. And I explained to Sebastian about making jam from both the berries and the leaves of the roses. The first time I tasted rose jam was on a trip I once took to Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Rose jam tastes heavenly. Sweet, perfumed, and delicate. The second time was when I made my own rose jam – precisely from the rose hips here on the beach.
In fact, you can also use rose hips for many other delicacies. Have you, for example, tried making rose hip muffins, rose hip syrup, or rose hip vodka? It sounds adventurous, but I have yet to try – yet.
This year we wanted to make rose hip jam. And so the hunt began to collect rose hip berries.
Sebastian had his good friend August over for a visit. With bags in hand, we started gathering berries. We picked the reddest ones we could find, letting the overly ripe ones hang. We also left the ones infested with worms. We needed a lot, and we picked a lot. But when we got home and weighed them, we hadn’t collected more than 400 grams.
We quickly realized that 400 grams was more than enough. Not because rose hips stretch very far, but we realized that the task of removing the seeds took an eternity.
Here’s how to make rose hip jam
First, the rose hips needed to be washed. Then they were cut in half – and with a knife, spoon, or fingers, the seeds were removed, followed by another rinse.
There were seeds everywhere. The kitchen table was covered in seeds, the sink, the floor, ourselves… rose hip pulp and seeds.
When we were finally done, I put them in a pot and covered them with water. I sprinkled some vanilla powder over them, added plenty of sugar, and a couple of peeled apples that I had cut into small pieces.
I brought the berry porridge mixture to a boil and then let it simmer for almost 1 hour. Then, after a spin with the hand blender, we had the most delicious rose hip jam.
The rose hip jam consists of:
- 400 grams of rose hips
- 2 apples, cored and cut into small pieces
- Vanilla powder
- Water, enough to cover
- Sugar, to taste
The boys were called in from their play and served homemade buns with rose hip jam … and squash juice.
Now that was a truly magical summer day.
Did you know that rose hips…
- can be orange, bright red, brown, and black
- grow on one of about 10 species of wild roses
- contain large amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, and calcium
- Vitamin C diminishes with cooking (but is preserved in dried powder form)
- are used to make jam, jelly, tea, juice, and soups (and muffins, syrup, and vodka)
- are used as a natural remedy for joint pain caused by arthritis
