Rose Hip Jelly
Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 5:31PM 
Poking around in my freezer, I discovered a bag of rose hips that I picked with my friend Hthaiwan last summer at a Cape Cod beach. Rose hips – sometimes called wild beach roses – grow in abundance along the beach dunes here in New England. You'll recognize them by the jaw breaker sized red berries. My plan was to make something with them as soon as I returned home to Boston, maybe dry them out for tea or even find a recipe for rose hip soup, a dish I've never had, but have always wanted to try. Well, that never happened. I ended up throwing them in the freezer and finding them nearly 11 months later.
Needing freezer space, I thawed them out and they looked pretty good. The seeds and hairy insides are irritating to the mouth, and I've been told that the hairs can be used to make itching powder, so I decided to make a jelly. I removed the stems, put them in a pot of water, and simmered them for over an hour. Near the end, I mashed them with a potato masher to bring out the tart flavor and strained them in a jelly bag. I brought the liquid to a boil, and added sugar, lemon juice and pectin. Man, was I surprised how good this tasted! The fragrance was also very sweet 
and floral. I then did the usual prep ending with a 10-minute processing in a water bath canner. I ended up with some excellent canned jelly: a little sweet, a little tart.
Next week, I'll be spending some time on a Cape Cod beach and I'll be bringing a jar of my Cape Cod rose hip jelly to the beach cottage. I expect, I'll be returning back to Boston with more foraged rose hips.
While foraging for rose hips, resist climbing around the protected dunes. There's always more than enough within easy reach.
Rose hips are very high in vitamin C.
Next I'll deal with that bag of Asian raspberries in the freezer, that I picked last month from my own garden.
Wild Foods
Reader Comments (4)
Rosehips also grow on the median strip of Summer Street (near Summer and Mill) in Arlington, MA. I used to pick them, dry them and blend them in teas.
Free fruit! Always good when it's free.
Yes, they are everywhere. I've also picked them near the commuter rail lot in Roslindale Village. Foraging is fun.
So there's no health concerns about bushes growing in urban areas? Maybe pesticides?
I am looking for someone who might be willing to pick several hundred lbs of rosehips for the purpose of making wine. Please let me know if you know anyone who enjoys foraging and would like to make a little money doing so.
Thanks,
Bob Manley