There’s no better time of year to be indulging vitamin C-rich rose hips–and rose hip jelly is a bright, delicious way to enjoy them. This particular rose hip jelly is extra special: it celebrates sacred unions. Whether created to share with a cherished friend, a newlywed couple, or your Beloved, Sacred Heart Rose Hip Jelly brings transcendent magic anchored in deep love.
It was a banner year for rose hips in our neck of the woods–they were abundant on our favorite hikes and heavy on the shrubs in downtown Sandpoint. This year’s early touch of frost contributed to superior flavor, too.
Alas, I didn’t make it out with my basket this season, but no matter: I still have dried hips from last year at the ready!
While rose hip jam from fresh hips is delicious, I actually tend to prefer making jelly from dried hips. For one thing, the prep required to make rose hips palatable in jam can be time-consuming–you have to get all of the bitter seeds and tiny hairs out or you’re in for an uncomfortably tangy jam, terrible itch in your mouth/throat, and disconcerting grumbles in your belly.
Using whole, dried hips for jelly saves time and prep work–there’s no cutting or preparing and straining with doubled cheesecloth and jelly bags takes care of the seeds and hairs.
Working from dried hips is also convenient if you haven’t found a wild rose bush nearby, didn’t find the time for harvest this season, or simply don’t have the where-with-all to do the abundant prep work fresh hips sometimes require.
In spite of its ease and simplicity, I don’t make this recipe very often. For one thing, it leverages a considerable amount of honey–LOTS of bees worked incredibly hard for what goes into this recipe!
For another thing, I consider this magical recipe sacred: it leverages the fruit of the queen of flowers sweetened with pure, precious honey and kissed by a prized essential oil.
The mother of rose hips, the inimitable rose, is a storied and cherished magical ally. Her sweet fragrance comforts grief, soothes wounds, lifts spirits, and inspires love. (For more on rose, see my mooning over rose here...) You probably don’t need me to go on and on about rose. Rose hips, on the other hand, might require some magical alignment…
Whereas fresh roses hold promises of love, rose hips are the fruit of love’s promise: love actualized and made manifest.
Rose hips are thought to bring luck to love, sweetness to unions, and peace and harmony to households occupied and shared by two newly committed lovers. Symbols of prosperity and fertility (in life and in the heart), rose hips also draw down health and wealth for newlyweds.
Then there’s honey.
Honey, of course, brings a heap of symbology.
In this Sacred Heart Rose Hip Jelly, we reach for honey’s association with finding the sweetness in the work of loving one another. It’s stickiness helps to bind and unify both intentions and commitments. It also reinforces the prosperity, fertility, and healing energies anchored in the rose hips.
With the kiss of rose otto essential oil–added via a toothpick and swirled in a heart in the brew after it boils–this Sacred Heart Rose Hip Jelly is a nod to sweet, sacred love and enduring connection.
Sacred Heart Rose Hip Jelly
A delicious, sweet jelly crafted from dried rose hips and precious honey celebrating sacred unions and heart connections.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried rose hips
- 7 cups warm water
- Large stainless steel pot
- Jelly strainer/cheesecloth and sieve
- 2-3 fresh organic lemons (for 1/2 cup lemon juice)
- 1 package pectin crystals
- 5 cups raw local organic honey
- A toothpick dipped in rose otto essential oil
- Canning jars and a water bath canner
Directions
- Step 1 In a large stainless steel pot, soak the dried rose hips in the warm water for 30 minutes. (Don’t use aluminum–it will react with the hips!)
- Step 2 After soaking, heat mixture over medium heat until hips break open, yielding seeds and meat (approximately 20-30 minutes). You will notice they begin to sink to the bottom.
- Step 3 Turn off the heat and mash the hips to crush them in the pot.
- Step 4 Strain into a large, heatproof bowl through a jelly bag (or layered cheesecloth in a sieve). It’s important to get both the seeds and the little “hairs” out, so use a strong, fine linen jelly bag or several layers of good cheesecloth.
- Step 5 While the mixture strains, prepare your water bath canner and sterilize your jars…
- Step 6 Measure strained rose hip liquid to ensure you have about 4 cups. Rinse the pot to remove any hairs/seeds and add the liquid back to the pot.
- Step 7 Cut and juice lemons. Measure 1/2 cup of lemon juice and add to the rose hip liquid in the pot.
- Step 8 Turn on medium heat and carefully stir in pectin to avoid clumps. Dip the toothpick in rose otto essential oil and swirl a heart into the mixture using the toothpick. Bring mixture to a rolling boil.
- Step 9 Add honey, stirring to combine. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute before removing from heat.
- Step 10 Skim foam off with a stainless steel spoon and pour immediately into hot, sterilized jars leaving about 1/4 inch of headspace. Cover with lid and seal tightly.
- Step 11 Place jars in water bath canner–make sure the jars are completely covered! Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes (add time for altitude if you’re more than 1,000 feet above sea level…).
- Step 12 Turn off heat, remove jars from canner, and allow to cool completely. Label and gift or enjoy!
If you’re keeping some of this beautiful jelly for yourself, I can highly recommend it on fresh-baked bread with butter and a steaming hot cup of almond milk with honey.
