Rose Hip Jam
Created and contributed by Becky Hoff, Rose Hip Jam is a low-sugar cooked jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener. Becky says, “Rose hips are the fruit of the rose bush. In my yard I am lucky enough to have a hedge of Rugosa roses, which in my opinion produce the best hips for jam making. They are tart and delicious, like a cross between an apple and a berry – but they are not very big. They are harvested in the late summer or fall when they are a bright reddish orange.”
Notes
There are two schools of thought on how to make Rose Hip Jam. Some say you should slice open every single hip, use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds, discard the seeds, and only use what is left to make your jam. I tried this once, and gave up on it about 1½ hours into the project. It was tedious and time consuming, and I didn’t get very far. I cut the remaining hips in half and proceeded as below.
My (lazy) method involves cutting the rose hips in half, simmering them for about 20 minutes in enough water to keep them from sticking, mashing well, and pressing the pulp through a strainer. The resulting puree is then used to make the jam. It took about two and a half quarts of whole rose hips to make three cups of puree.
This jam has an easily spreadable consistency due to the amount of pectin used and pureeing the rose hips. It is sweet-tart and good, and when you’re slathering this jam on your breakfast toast in the winter, it brightens up your morning considerably. Of course you could go through the trouble and effort of slicing and deseeding all of your rose hips before cooking them down if you wanted a chunkier jam. This might be a reasonable job for a group of people – grab some friends, a bottle or two of wine, and get to work!
Servings 4 cups
Ingredients
- 3 cups of strained rose hip puree see note
- 3 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice bottled
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin For a firmer jell, use up to 2¼ teaspoons pectin
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Wash lids and bands and set aside.
- Measure fruit into sauce pan.
- Add calcium water and lemon juice, and mix well.
- Measure sugar into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sugar. Set aside.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with (marmalade/jam/jelly), leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
- Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, bring the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
- Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Hi, what if I don’t want to can it because I know It’ll get eaten soon? Do I have to cook it longer? Thanks!
Hello Martha,
You do not need to water-bath can your jam. You can always fill your jars, allow them to cool to room temperature and then place them in the freezer (or fridge if they are going to be used within 3 weeks). If frozen, simply thaw before use.
Hello, can I used dried rosehips? Thanks a bunch!
Hello Lynn, we are not sure how that will turn out, but you are welcome to give it a try!
Is the calcium needed in this recipe?
It is, yes. Happy jamming!
This sounds delious. Can I use honey instead of sugar? Thanks
You sure can!