Rosehip Cordial

What better way than to gather rosehips than to take yourself on a long walk in the country and forage away, ruby red jewels waiting to be picked for all manner of things, My mother used to make rosehip jelly which was fantastic but the reason I want you to go out this weekend is so you can make rosehip cordial, as it is red in colour, so will fulfil every child's dreams of drinking blood on Halloween!! Tis very easy to make and here is how you do it.

You will need

1Kg or 2Lb 4 oz of wild rosehips, which you wash and then roughly chop

350g or 12 oz caster sugar 

6 pints of water in total 3.5 for the 1st bit and 2.5 for the 2nd

Muslin for draining

Then to make it all you have to do is

Put the rosehips in a big pan and add all the water, which should be boiling.

Bring it back to the boil, when its boiling turn the heat off and let it infuse for 15 mins

Strain through a double layer of muslin, squeezing pout as much of the liquid as possible, then set aside.

Then tip the pulp back into the pan and pour on 2.5 pints of boiling water and then bring back to the boil, then again turn the heat off and allow to infuse for 10 mins. Repeat the straining process as before, then throw away the pulp that is still in the muslin.

Pour all the strained liquid into a clean pan and boil rapidly to reduce to just over 2 pints, skim off any scum that comes to the surface, then stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Pour the cordial into sterilised bottles (dip them in boiling water) and it's ready to serve dilute to taste. This will keep for three months if refrigerated