Foraging-Fun Recipe: Easy Rosehip Marmalade

Rosehips are one of the stars of Winter Foraging here in Maine for sure. There are so many ways to enjoy them, from simply drying them for tea, to turning them into cordials & jellies, but Rosehip Marmalade is always at the top of the list in this house! In this post, I will share my super-easy, 4-Ingredient, Pectin-Free recipe & you can see for yourself why! All you need is sugar, 5 oranges, 1 lemon, & rosehips!

Rosehips, for those not familiar with them, are the fruit of the rose plant. Packed with Vitamin C & nutrients, rose hips are valuable commodities. Press them for oil to nourish & brighten the skin. Rosehips are traditionally used to support the immune system, ease arthritis pain, & provide antioxidants. I begin harvesting rosehips after the first frost each year for best flavor. Inevitably, as the birds, deer & other foragers take their share, the available numbers begin to dwindle, although if you are diligent & persistent, you can find usable hips all through the Winter. [as always, be very careful to only harvest from plants that have not been treated with pesticides.]

All roses & their hips are edible, with the smaller hips of wild brair-roses having the strongest flavor. The flavor of rosehips is wonderfully enhanced & complimented by citrus, making them ideal for use in marmalade. The cleaning & preparing of rosehips for use in jelly or marmalade is a labor of love, but worth the effort for the benefits & flavor they provide. I personally find marmalade best crafted with the hips of the gorgeous, wild beach roses [Rosa rugosa] covering the coast here in midcoast Maine. They make enormous, cherry-tomato sized hips, which are much easier to clean & prepare. Again, any rosehips can be used for this recipe; I simply prefer to use the jumbo hips of Rosa rugosa myself.  Late December - January, when the Cara Cara oranges arrive & citrus season is in full-swing, is THE time to make this treat.

Wild Briar-Rose hips on the left VS. the enormous hips of the Beach Roses on the right!

Some of last year's haul--Note that gorgeous color from the Cara Cara oranges!

Before we get going, I have a few tips about making marmalades. First, as we are using the entire orange in our recipe, I recommend only using organic oranges here. Any variety oranges can be used, but with their vibrant color & unique flavor, Cara Caras are my favorite. Additionally, they are a seedless variety, which makes them even easier to use. They certainly make the prettiest marmalade you have ever seen too! Citrus peels contain a ton of natural pectin, so no store-bought pectin is needed at all for this recipe! It is important to cook the oranges until the peels are very soft in the first stage of this recipe, as they will firm up a bit when the bulk of the sugar is added. Also, be sure to use a large pot as marmalade needs lots of room to cook!  

Finally, watch the color of your marmalade as you cook-- If it begins to turn brown that means the sugars are caramelizing & you are overcooking. Quickly remove it from heat if you notice this happening.  Okay, grab some clean jelly-jars & your thermometer & let’s get started!

Easy Rosehip Marmalade

4 cups Rosehips, cleaned & trimmed [roughly]  
4 ¾ cups Sugar  
2 Organic Cara Cara Oranges, thinly sliced  
3 Cara Cara Oranges, juiced  
1 Lemon, Juiced

Prep your jelly jars & lids, & have your thermometer handy. Start by cleaning your rosehips, removing the seeds & tiny hairs inside each hip. This is the work part of the marmalade--seriously! Once this task is completed it is SUPER EASY so do not be discouraged! The blade of a small paring knife or tip of a vegetable peeler will help speed this along. Place your cleaned hips in a colander & flush them with cold running water for a minute or 2. To extract the juice from the hips, place them in a coquette or large stock pot & cover with 1” of water. AVOID the use of aluminum pots or utensils as they will damage the Vitamin C in your rosehips.  

Here I have removed a big bag of Rosa rugosa hips from my freezer to thaw & clean for a batch

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-60 minutes until rosehips are soft & easily smashed with the back of a wooden spoon. Run the rosehips & all the liquid through a jelly bag, food-mill, or fine strainer to separate any stowaway seeds & pesky hairs along with the skins. [Pop that lot into your compost.]
​ You should be left with cloudy, red-orange rosehip juice! Set it aside to cool.

Thinly slice your 2 oranges with a sharp knife or mandoline, then cut the slices into quarters. [this is so you end up with nice bite-sized pieces of peel in the end!] Add the sliced oranges & any juice they let out to the now-empty pot, along with 1 cup of sugar & the juice from the other 3 oranges. Bring this to a boil. Once a full boil is reached, reduce your heat & simmer until the peels become soft & translucent, roughly 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You may need to add a bit of water to keep the simmer going, but the juice is usually sufficient. 

​Once the peels are translucent, you are almost done! Add your rosehip liquid, the lemon juice, & all the remaining sugar. Stirring constantly, bring it to a boil & start checking your thermometer -- It is very easy to scorch or overcook marmalade! It is ready once it is between 219 F - 222 F, depending on how firm you like it. I generally strive for the middle ground of 221 F. Remove your pot from heat & quickly ladle your marmalade into your waiting jars. Voila! Gorgeous & delicious marmalade! You can either keep your jars in the fridge or process them in a water canning bath for the proper length of time for your elevation.

This marmalade is absolutely delicious & pairs well with sweet or savory items. Equally lovely with roast meats as with butter on toast, or paired with a sharp cheese. Clever April from SugarSpell Sweets treated me to an amazing cake last January that she filled with this marmalade [she also brushed the cake with my Rosehip cordial <3] that was outrageously good -- the possibilities are endless & your body will thank you for the loads of Vitamin C! I do hope you enjoy this recipe--Let me know how it turns out for you & how you like to use it! Until next time--Stay safe &  #StopAndEatTheFlowers