Nyponsoppa / rosehip soup

Nyponsoppa, or rosehip soup, is a Swedish classic. The sweet soup is served both warm or cold.

Most swedes have only had the soup made from a powder (made from dried rosehips). But I can really assure you that it’s totally worth the small extra effort to make it from fresh rosehips! It simple tastes so much better and richer! We drink this soup either warm or cold. Either plain for breakfast or a quick snack, or for dessert and then often topped with whipped cream and almond macaroons. Now is the perfect time of the year to go out in nature to pick mature rosehips.

Here in the southern part of Sweden there are lots of wild roses along the coast and we had a lovely day at the beach this weekend when we were out foraging rose hips. We could have picked endless amounts! So hurry out to pick some, as there is nothing better than cup of warm rose hip soup on a cold autumn day!

The rose Rosa rugosa is an invasive plant that is spreading along the beaches, so it’s actually a good deed to pick the rose hips. But be careful with how you treat the seeds, and don’t throw them in your compost to avoid the spread.

The rosehips from Rosa rugosa are fruity and perfect to make a purée to use for rosehip soup or jam.

I also found several rose bushes in our neighbourhood filled with rosehips. It was a smaller, longer kind of rosehip. I made a purée in the same way as with the rosehips from Rosa rugosa, but had to cook them longer as they were harder. Then made a warm soup to compare the taste. It was good, but not as good as Rosa rugosa rosehips.

The classic topping for the rosehipp soup is almond macaroons, and I baked some following this recipe by Linda Lomelino.