Day 102: Rosehips - The Final Chapter

Well, it has worked!  At least, I have produced a reddish liquid which tastes quite nice, and is suitably syrupy.  I am really rather proud of myself.  What better frugal achievement than a Hedgerow Harvest transformed into a useful foodstuff and medicine?

Good old Marguerite Patten.  Her wartime recipe was just the thing.  She informs me that "This syrup is suitable for infants, very palatable, and so rich in Vitamin C that 1oz is sufficient for 1 month."   The half pound of rosehips I had picked has made 1 cup (8 fl.oz) of syrup, so that means that I am sorted for 8 months, I presume.  That will tide me over even a Scottish winter. :D

Of course, there are still a couple of things that could go wrong.  I think I got all the little hairs, but who knows?  Only time and potentially painful experiment will tell.  And rather than bottling the syrup, I am making use of some technology they didn't have in wartime Britain, and freezing it.  I read somewhere that if you do bottle it, you should use tiny bottles, as it goes off rapidly after opening - about one week.  So I am hoping that freezing offers a good alternative and doesn't destroy the syrup or its nutritional value.  I froze it in a couple of icecube trays, for easy extraction and defrosting.

Anyway, the recipe is posted above.  I am told it can also be used as a flavouring for desserts, or poured over ice cream, which sounds like an extraordinarily pleasant way of taking one's medicine.

So come and get me, Winter Germs!  I am ready for you!