How to Make Fermented Rosehip Soda

By Ariana Mullins, contributing writer

It’s a great time of year to collect rosehips so we can make this fermented rosehip soda recipe.

They are all over the place here in England, where my family is living at the moment. Rosehips are popular wild sources of vitamin C, have numerous herbal benefits, and they have a really nice flavor.

The problem with rosehips is that they can be a bit hard to work with, because they have hairs inside with the seeds. So I am always looking for uses that work with whole rosehips. This fermented rosehip soda recipe is perfect and very low-maintenance. You just boil the hips for flavor, and strain them out.

I love to brew my own ciders and wines, but it’s really nice to have something quick and kid-friendly on-hand, too. This is a great way to use foraged herbs, flowers and berries. You can use this method for any fruit, really, and it’s very similar to my method for making fermented rhubarb & honey soda.

Fermented Rosehip Soda Recipe

Ingredients

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• 3 cups fresh rosehips, with the stems and ends removed
• 3/4 cup raw honey (where to buy) or sugar, such as brown sugar or sucanat, works too
• Some kind of culture– you can use sauerkraut juice or whey from strained yogurt– you only need a tablespoon or two
• A demijohn (where to buy)
• Airlock (where to buy)
• Funnel  (where to buy)
• Swing-top bottles (where to buy)

Instructions

1. Put the rosehips into a pot, and add 8 cups of water. Bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat, then cool. I have left mine overnight before, but you don’t need to.
3. Strain out the rosehips.
4. Add the honey or sugar and stir until dissolved. (You can also just save this as rosehip syrup! This is a nice way to make another batch later– you can freeze, then dilute when you want to make another batch, quickly. Dilute the syrup with water to get a good juice flavor and consistency.)
5. Pour the “juice” into a sterilized or very clean demijohn, pour in your whey or sauerkraut juice and add your airlock. (I have a small swing-top container that I used for making a smaller batch than usual. An airlock fits in the top. Some people have had success with putting a balloon over the top of the demijohn with a pin hole in the top to mimic an airlock. Worth a try in a pinch!)
6. Let it sit for about three days, and taste it. Mine fermented pretty quickly, but there are some variables– the temperature of the room, the strength of the culture you used, etc. Taste it and let it ferment until it’s only a little sweeter than you would like it to be.
7. Pour it into your swing-top bottles, and store in the fridge. (The type of bottle is important, as they allow the ferment to give off some small amounts of Co2 and won’t explode.) You could leave them out at room temperature if you’d like to drink them sooner, but I usually pop them into the fridge to slow down the fermentation process.
8. You will want to drink this rosehip soda recipe within a few weeks, or risk losing most of your Rosehip Soda to the “geyser effect.” If you’re storing it for a while, I’d just check in now and then to see what kind of pressure is building up. Your beverage will get drier, more tart and fizzier the longer you wait. It will eventually develop more of an alcohol content, too, so you might want to taste it before giving it to your kids if you’ve been storing it for a while! Enjoy!

How to Make Fermented Rosehip Soda

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh rosehips, with the stems and ends removed
• 3/4 cup raw honey (like this) or sugar, such as brown sugar or sucanat, works too
• Some kind of culture– you can use sauerkraut juice or whey from strained yogurt– you only need a tablespoon or two
• A demijohn (like this)
• Airlock (like this)
• Funnel (like this)
• Swing-top bottles (like this)

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Instructions

1. Put the rosehips into a pot, and add 8 cups of water. Bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat, then cool. I have left mine overnight before, but you don’t need to.
3. Strain out the rosehips.
4. Add the honey or sugar and stir until dissolved. (You can also just save this as rosehip syrup! This is a nice way to make another batch later– you can freeze, then dilute when you want to make another batch, quickly. Dilute the syrup with water to get a good juice flavor and consistency.)
5. Pour the “juice” into a sterilized or very clean demijohn, pour in your whey or sauerkraut juice and add your airlock. (I have a small swing-top container that I used for making a smaller batch than usual. An airlock fits in the top. Some people have had success with putting a balloon over the top of the demijohn with a pin hole in the top to mimic an airlock. Worth a try in a pinch!)
6. Let it sit for about three days, and taste it. Mine fermented pretty quickly, but there are some variables– the temperature of the room, the strength of the culture you used, etc. Taste it and let it ferment until it’s only a little sweeter than you would like it to be.
7. Pour it into your swing-top bottles, and store in the fridge. (The type of bottle is important, as they allow the ferment to give off some small amounts of Co2 and won’t explode.) You could leave them out at room temperature if you’d like to drink them sooner, but I usually pop them into the fridge to slow down the fermentation process.
8. You will want to drink them within a few weeks, or risk losing most of your Rosehip Soda to the “geyser effect.” If you’re storing it for a while, I’d just check in now and then to see what kind of pressure is building up. Your beverage will get drier, more tart and fizzier the longer you wait. It will eventually develop more of an alcohol content, too, so you might want to taste it before giving it to your kids if you’ve been storing it for a while! Enjoy!

Love this Rosehip Soda Recipe? Check Out These Other Delicious Beverage Recipes:

• Homemade Fruit Slushies with Herbs
• Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate Recipe
• Chai Tea Concentrate Recipe
• Homemade Eggnog Recipe

About Ariana Mullins

Ariana Mullins is an American writer, cook, explorer and photographer. She shares her family’s stories of challenge and adventure as expats in Europe, as well as inspiration for living a simple and meaningful life at And Here We Are… She has a passion for restoring lost kitchen arts and loves to share her experiences in foraging, butchery, home brewing and anything new she can get her hands on in her English kitchen. Connect with her on andhereweare.net, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.