Rose Hip Salve

Also at that same recent talk I gave, I demonstrated making a salve from rose hips.

You can find previous posts about salve making

  here

and 

additional notes here

This salve is ideal for the face but can of course be used anywhere.

I roughly chopped a big handful of fresh rose hips and then covered with cold pressed almond oil and gently infused over a very low heat till the oil had taken on the colour and smelled of the hips. I used my thermomix but some people use a slow cooker on low for a few hours making sure the oil doesn't get too warm as we are trying to preserve as much of the Vit C properties of the hips. The other method is to place the hips covered in oil in a jar and leave to infuse in the warmth of the sun over the month.

Strain the oil through a cloth lined sieve and extract as much as possible squeezing the pulp. 

Measure the resulting golden oil and add 10% in weight of bees wax. This is best grated and added to the oil to gently heat to dissolve. 

Once it is dissolved, you can also add a couple of drops of Vit E oil and pour into sterile jars and label.

It's best to use a container that is not clear and keep the salve in a cool place away from light. Always use a stick or clean finger and use within a few months.

If you prefer a scent, you can add a drop of essential oil but I like to keep the salve as simple as possible and enjoy the benefits of the almond oil and rose hip oil.

You can use any rose hips but I find wild rose hips in abundance around our road ways.

We also shared some rose hip cordial on the night and the recipe is found 

here