What to Make: Rosehip Ketchup

By Meg Walker
07th Jun 2016

Simon Bajada’s Rosehip Ketchup
Try to pick rosehips that are plump, slightly soft and crush under the pressure of your fingers when pressed (be careful when applying this last test though – they can be prickly!).

Makes 1 large jar (400-600g)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients
2 kg rosehips, stems and tails attached
1 garlic clove, finely diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
100ml malt vinegar
60g brown sugar
? tsp?ground cinnamon
2 whole cloves
? tsp?ground allspice

Method
Preheat the oven to 100?C/gas mark 1/8. Sterilise a glass jar by washing it thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinsing well, then putting it on a baking tray in the oven for 20 minutes. Leave to cool. Pour 200ml of water into a saucepan, add the rosehips, garlic and onion, cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat for 20-25 minutes, until the rosehips are soft to the centre when pressed hard (the exact timing will vary depending on the size of the rosehips – you may need to add more water as you’re cooking if the pan looks like it’s drying out). Pass the rosehips through a sieve into a bowl in batches. This can be tedious, but the goal is to extract as much of the rosehip pulp from the seeds as possible. To extract more of the pulp, tip the seed mixture from the sieve back into the pan with an extra 100ml of water and heat again before sieving as before. When all the flesh is extracted, return it to the saucepan together with the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, until the mixture turns a deep red and has the consistency of a thick sauce. If the ketchup seems too thick, add a splash of water. Pour the ketchup into the prepared jar, seal and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.