Rosehip and Apple Cordial

This is the first year I’ve picked and cooked rosehips. I’ve noticed them in past years but have never harvested them, however this year they were growing along the autumn hedgerows in abundance so I took to the internet to find some inspiration. 

I opted to turn my pickings into a sweet and tangy cordial – something I knew the kids would enjoy and surprisingly this didn’t take long at all to make. I added some apples into the mix as again they are plentiful at this time of year and add an extra tasty dimension to the juice.

As an added bonus, it appears that rosehips are a valuable source of Vitamin C and an excellent antioxidant, which is good news for this time of year when colds are on the rampage!

If you don’t fancy cordial, there are many other dishes rosehips can be made into including jelly, syrup or chutney.

I also managed to pick a few of the pretty roses growing alongside which look lovely in a little bud vase next to the sink.

Love Gill X

I do love homemade cordial although I have never tried rosehip. In fact the only thing I've made with rosehips is jam jars full of dodgy 'perfume' which I can promise you, you would not want to drink!  We also used them as a natural itchy powder and would cut them in two and pour the insides down each other's jumper.  Looking back, I don't think anything actually itched!

 

But enough of this! I'm thinking Gill's cordial will make a gorgeous hot drink as the nights begin cool down and I can imagine mugs of this made with piping hot water and teaspoonfuls loaded with local honey while watching the fireworks go off. I'm also predicting it makes an excellent base for a cocktail and can only imagine lots of ice, a good slug of White Rum, sliced lemon and a sprig of mint for a Perthshire Autumn Daiquiri!

 

However you choose to serve yours, please do send us your photographs and share your ideas with us. We'd love to see them. As always, tag them #PerthLoveFest and we'll scatter them around our own social media.

 

Nicki X