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RE: Take a Peek Inside The Homestead Herb Cabinet
'Is that weird' Made me laugh - no it's not weird it's your passion!! What a fabulous collection!!! What do you use rose petals for and how do you dry them?
oooh. Rose petals are awesome. Over the summer I'll take basket out with me and run my hands over the petals gathering the ones that fall into the basket. I dry them on a mesh screen in a dry location. By autumn I have so many dried rose petals!
I use them for so many things. Rose mint soap recipe, in scones and cakes, herbal infusions (steep them in jojoba with lavender and you've got my all in one skin care regime). I make a tea that is rose hips, rose petals and mint ... I also make strawberry rose jam, rose simple syrup and some other things like that with the fresh petals. :)
Roses are so much fun! :)
I simply need to know way more about this and I really want to make rose hip syrup - I want to pick your brains more!
Well, I love working with roses. I'd be happy to share what I know. I actually have a bunch of photos taken that show how I dry rose hips (and get the hairs out) and a rose hip jam recipe that I've been wanting to write.
anything you need to know feel free to ask!
Lol all of the above - I know absolutely nothing except I love them and I really liked rose hip syrup as a drink when I was a child :)
Oh and what the heck is Labrador tea???
Labrador tea is a forest shrub. You pick and dry the leaves for tea. Its correct name is: Rhododendron groenlandicum. (I had to look this up (lol). It grows in boggy/rocky locations mostly and I think in colder climates.
I've never made rose hip syrup but I make all kinds of syrups in the summer and after looking at a few recipes this one is not much different.
You'll want to boil/simmer fresh hips in water until they turn into a pulp and then strain really, really well. The hips have hairs inside that are super irritating to the throat. So I would strain multiple times with a thick piece of cheese cloth or muslin. Once that's done you'll take sugar or honey and simmer that mixture until it thickens to the consistency you want.
It will be a while until I have fresh hips to work with! Rose petal syrup is really easy. You just steep the petals in water to make a tea and then add lemon juice and sugar and simmer until it thickens. Its quite lovely. It would be like this recipe but you need to use (3-4 cups) of water to make the juice.
https://www.walkerland.ca/strawberry-syrup/
I didn't know that about the rose hips and the hairs. I'd love a post on dealing with that.
I dehydrate as many rugosa rose petals as I can for the hens, aiming for at least a quart jar full. I could also make tea with them, but never do.