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A hedgerow harvest worth the scratches

Rosehips are one of the great free harvests of the British autumn. Every dog rose, field rose and briar in the hedgerow produces them, and they ripen just as the larder needs brightening: rich in vitamin C, naturally high in pectin, and generous enough that an hour or two of picking fills a preserving pan. During the Second World War, schoolchildren were sent out to gather them by the ton so that syrup could be made for the nation's children. Once you have tasted homemade rosehip syrup stirred into hot water on a raw January morning, you will understand why the habit stuck.

They are also forgiving. You do not need a smallholding, a dehydrator or expensive kit. A pair of thick gloves, a basket and a large pan will see you through.

When and where to pick

Hips begin colouring in late August and hang on well into November, sometimes past Christmas if the birds leave them alone. The old advice is to wait for the first frost, and there is truth in it: a cold night softens the flesh and makes the hips easier to process. But frost is not essential, and if you are making syrup the vitamin C content is actually highest while the hips are still firm and fully coloured. Pick on a dry day after the dew has lifted.

Hedgerows, field edges, disused railway lines, churchyard boundaries and coastal dunes are all good hunting grounds. The fat, tomato-shaped hips of Japanese rose on sand dunes are among the richest of all. Two rules matter more than any other:

• Keep well away from busy roads. Fifty metres is a sensible minimum, and further on bends, junctions and hills where vehicles labour. Exhaust deposits settle on the skins and you cannot wash them all off.
• Never pick from sprayed or strimmed verges, and always ask permission on private land. If a hedge has been flailed, leave it.

Take no more than half of what you find on any one bush. Hips are winter larder for fieldfares, redwings, blackbirds and small mammals, and a stripped hedge in a hard January is a hungry one.

Identifying your rosehips

Every true wild rose in Britain is edible, which takes the pressure off identification. Dog rose is the classic: an arching, hooked-thorned hedgerow shrub with pinnate leaves of five to seven toothed leaflets, single pink or white flowers in June, and oval scarlet hips in autumn. Field rose is similar but trails more. Japanese rose has distinctly wrinkled leaves and large, round, glossy hips.

Check the details before you commit. A ripe hip is red to orange-scarlet and slightly glossy, with the dried star-shaped remains of the flower at the tip and a short stalk at the other end. Hawthorn berries are also red and are also found in hedges, so look at the leaves: roses have pinnate, toothed leaves, hawthorn has small lobed ones. If in doubt, walk on — there is always another hedge.

Topping, tailing and that notorious itch

Inside every hip sits a mass of fine hairs around the seeds. These were once sold as itching powder, and they are every bit as irritating as that suggests. Handle hips with respect and process them over a sink or outdoors. Rinse them first in cold water.

• Wear gloves for the whole job, and avoid touching your face or eyes.
• Top and tail each hip: slice off the stalk end and the dried flower end with a small knife or sharp scissors.
• Freeze the hips overnight if you like. Thawed hips are softer, quicker to chop and release their juice more readily.
• Never rub or press the pulp through a coarse sieve. The hairs pass straight through and will ruin the texture of a syrup. Strain gently through double muslin or a jelly bag instead.

Rosehip syrup: the classic winter remedy

This is the recipe worth mastering first, because it is quick, keeps for a year, and turns a hedge into something you will reach for all winter.

Take 500g of prepared hips and 1.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for fifteen minutes until the hips are soft. Mash them roughly with a potato masher, then tip the lot into a scalded jelly bag or a double layer of muslin and leave it to drip overnight. Do not squeeze. Return the pulp to the pan with another 750ml of water, simmer for ten minutes, and strain again. Combine the two lots of liquid, then reduce it by roughly half over a low heat.

Now add sugar at about 450g per 500ml of liquid, heat gently until it dissolves, and simmer for five minutes. Pour into sterilised bottles while hot and seal. Kept in a cool, dark cupboard it will hold for twelve months. A teaspoonful in hot water, over porridge, or stirred into a glass of fizzy water is the standard dose in most households.

Beyond syrup: jellies, fruit leather and tea

Rosehips have enough pectin to set a jelly on their own, but the flavour is better for a partner. Rosehip and apple jelly is the one to make: simmer 1kg of hips with 1kg of chopped crab apples or Bramley windfalls, barely covered with water, until everything collapses. Strain overnight through a jelly bag, then allow 450g of sugar per 600ml of juice and boil to setting point. The result is a deep amber jelly that is superb with cold roast meats or on hot buttered toast.

Fruit leather uses up the pulp left from syrup-making, provided you have strained it carefully and it is free of hairs. Push it through a fine sieve or whizz it smooth, sweeten to taste, spread thinly on baking parchment and dry at around 60C for eight to ten hours until it peels away cleanly. Roll it in parchment and keep it in a tin — it makes a fine pocket snack for a day in the woods.

Rosehip tea is the simplest use of all. Dry halved hips in a warm airing cupboard or a low oven until brittle, store them in a jar away from light, and steep a heaped teaspoon in boiling water for ten minutes. Add a strip of orange peel or a clove if you fancy it. Vitamin C degrades with heat and long storage, so make the tea fresh and keep your syrup in the dark.

Label everything with the date — rosehip syrup looks much like several other preserves — and give a couple of bottles away. Foraged syrup makes one of the best Christmas presents a hedgerow can offer.