I hate roses …except the wild ones – Rosehip Syrup

I always have and I know where it comes from …my Gran on my Dads side had this horrible “garden” that was all concrete and planters with mean thick stemed huge petalled roses.

My grandpa had the other half of the garden it was a huge allotment and he grew every vegetable imaginable , I especially remember feeding the runner beans through the special slicer cranking the handle. Cruelly through some undetermined health issue he was on a very strict diet that meant he could only bland food ( sort of white sauce and fish stuff and no vegetables ) …he had been on the diet for 15 years …. it later transpired that this diet should only have lasted 6 months….but being good old people they failed ever to recheck with the doctor.

But I digress from the dismal rose garden. It was painfully depressing for a child , we visited mostly in summer and white heat  reflecting from the  concrete . You were not allowed to kick a ball or play lest you knock the petal off a rose .

The best time I remember , is when a storm was expected we were allowed to go round and snip of all the rose heads,  filling every jam jar and vase with them.

I really don’t like the smell of roses however its kind of heady , reminiscent of the rotting birds my cats used to bring in

Rosehip Syrup

Wild roses are different though … and this autumn has been great since I discovered rosehip syrup above & a recipe from Nature Adrift . Recipe available on my blog from Wet Walking and Apples

It makes a lovely apple tart with some scrumped apples recipe available by following this link

Ice Cream with Rosehip Syrup and Cardammon

Pure simplicity on ice cream with cardamon seeds

Duck Legs with Rosehip Syrup

• But the syrup work brilliant in a savoury form with extra rosehips on duck legs
• Mash some rosehips and mix with chopped dried chillis, rock salt , a skim of brown sugar ,a touch of garlic ,some olive oil . rub over the duck legs
• Roast at 150 deg with extra whole rosehips in the pan…. for 40 minutes basting regularly …. you can throw some RoseHip Syrup over in the last ten minutes….
• if you are able to leave this in the oven for another 15 minutes with the oven off to rest and caramalise all the better

Rosehips are currently dotting the hedgerows…so go gather

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