So what the heck can you do with rosehips? Well, little naysayers out there, plenty to make a believer out of you yet. They are not barricaded in tea prison nor are they subject to the rules and regulations of comparable products. One thing about rosehips is for certain, they are underused and readily available.   This trip to Fair Grove, we foraged for wild rosehips and put them to good use.  For every rose you see, it is as near certain it was once a rosebud as it is that a rosehip once neighbored. The rosehip is the cherry-sized fruit born by a rose plant. Usually ranging from red to orange in color, some fruit can appear dark purple to black depending on location. Some rose varieties are grown deliberately for the austerity of their hips, like the Rosa moyesii which bears substantial bottle-shaped fruit. However, the most pleasantly flavored rosehips come from the Rosa rugosa bush. The flavor most comparable to rosehips is the cranberry, very fruit-like with a sophisticated, aromatic bite.

Rosehips provide a large dose of Vitamin C without an excessive amount of sugar and are even used to feed pets that typically fall deficient of this important vitamin. In the human world, they are used in a variety of dishes ranging from rosehip jelly to rosehip pie to rosehip sauces to rosehip fruit leathers into the beyond- even soup and nut bread! Rosehips perfectly complement many beverages and add a hint of romance to sparkling spirits like champagne, deepening the light notes and adding complexity.

Wild Foraged Fair Grove Rosehip Champagne Cocktail

This tart drink is loaded with vitamin C and a lovely fall & winter component to our Fair Grove fun!

Rosehip Syrup

Make 1 cup

Ingredients

½ cup white sugar
½ cup water
½ cup rosehips, washed and cleaned

Directions

In a small sauce pan combine the ingredients and bring to a boil, turn down low and let simmer until thick about 15 minutes.  Take off heat and cool.  Strain.

For the champagne cocktails

Pour ½ ounce of the rose syrup in a champagne flute and fill with champagne.  Garnish with a fresh rosehip.