Rose hips are borne on rose shrubs once the flowers fall from the canes.
Roses are distantly related to fruit plants such as apple trees and blackberry bushes. Like these fruit-bearing plants, roses also produce fruit. Rose fruits, called rose hips, are round and red or orange in color. The fruit is borne on the tips of rose canes once rose blossoms fall from the cane. Rose hips are a good source of vitamin C in regions where citrus is not plentiful. The fruit should not be eaten raw, as the seeds and hairs inside a rose hip may irritate the lining of your mouth or stomach. Instead, rose hips may be made into syrup, jam, jelly or fruit leathers.
Instructions
1. Cut rose hips from the rose shrub using good quality pruning shears after the first frost of the year. Rose hips should be red or orange in color and will feel soft. Do not harvest after rose hips become wrinkled. Harvest 4 cups of rose hips to make 3 cups of fruit leather.
2. Cut the stem and blossom from each rose hip. Rinse the fruits and pat them dry with a paper towel. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the temperature. Simmer for 15 more minutes to soften the rose hips. The hips should become mushy and the water will contain rose hip juice at this point.
3. Place the hips in a fine mesh sieve and strain off the water and small particles of rose hip mush into a bowl. Press on the rose hips with a spoon to force particles through the holes of the mesh. Return the pulp that does not go through the holes of the mesh back into the saucepan and cover with water again.
4. Heat the water but do not boil vigorously. Pour the hips into the sieve and press with the spoon to force more of the mush through the sieve holes again. All that should be left in the sieve by now are the rose hip skins, seed and hairs.
5. Pour 2 cups of the rose hip puree onto the plastic accessory sheet of a food dehydrator used for drying fruit leathers. Spread the puree evenly over the sheet so the puree is 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Place this sheet onto a drying rack of a food dehydrator. Put the other food dehydrating racks into place and turn on the food dehydrator. Alternately, line a 12- by 17-inch cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour 2 cups of puree onto the parchment paper. Spread the puree evenly over the cookie sheet. Set the oven to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the cookie sheet on an oven rack. Put a thermometer near the cookie sheet to ensure that temperatures stay an even 140 degrees.
6. Check the fruit leather periodically for dryness. Fruit leathers dry from the outer edges inward, and may take between six and 24 hours to dry. Signs that the leather is not dry include dark spots on the margins of the leathers, indentations in the fruit leather when you touch the center of the puree or leather that does not hold its shape when you peel it from the tray.
7. Place dry fruit leathers on plastic wrap and roll them up to store them. Rose hip leathers must be completely dry; otherwise, they will mold when stored. Place the rolls of leather in a food grade plastic bag with a zipper top.
Tags: cookie sheet, food dehydrator, fruit leather, fruit leathers, rose hips