This Fermented Rosehip Honey Jam is a beautiful sweet treat!
Rosehips are an exceptionally rich source of Vitamin C – just a teaspoon of this jam can give you as much of this essential nutrient as 5 large oranges. You can’t eat the hips straight off the bush, but honey fermentation is one of the easiest ways to make them edible – and one of the purest, too. You need to start with really ripe rosehips – soft enough that you can squeeze the pulp out like toothpaste.
By Rachel Dethample
Click here to read our identification guide to Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
This Fermented Rosehip Honey Jam Recipe Makes a 200g jar
Ingredients
- 4-5 tbsp ripe rosehips
- 4-5 tbsp raw honey
You will also need
- A 200 g jar with an airtight lid
- A 23c m square of cheesecloth
Fermentation time at least 1 month
Method for Making Fermented Rosehip Honey Jam
- Place the rosehips in the jar. Spoon the honey over and stir though to fully mix. Cover the jar with a. lid and set on a place. Place in a dark, cool place to ferment for two weeks, stirring the mixture every day or so to ensure you don’t get yeasts settling on the top which can encourage the growth of moulds.
- Soon you will start to see bubbles forming. The honey will take on a crimson hue from the rosehips and will become more liquid as time goes on.
- The rosehips will soften further. Let the mixture ferment at room temperature for at least a month, and up to 6 months.
- When you’re ready to try the jam, you need to first filter out the fine hairs from inside the rosehips, which are an irritant. Spoon the rosehips into the cheesecloth square. Squeeze the pulp through the cheesecloth then mix it with enough of the fermented honey from the jar to give your desired consistency – you can make it as thick or as thin as you like.
- Eat the jam soon after filtering, to get the maximum flavour. As well as having it on toast or swirled through yogurt, kefir or porridge, you can add the jam to desserts or take it as a drink – add warm water to make it into a tea, or mix it with champagne or with gin and tonic for a delightful tipple.
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