Foraging for Rose-hips

Well, I went for a walk on the "moor", next door, this morning, and found a couple of rose-hips left on a wild rose. I thought I should show you how easy it is to use them and enjoy them.

Select the nice firm shiny juicy-looking ones, once they have turned a rich glossy red, or dark orange. You don't have to use wild rose-hips. The cultivated roses in your garden are just as good, provided they have not been sprayed with chemicals that may be toxic. Indeed, the cultivated roses in your garden most probably have huge hips. They are fun to use, too, and have nice fragrant fruits.

Of course, the rose-hip can be considered just a giant quince or apple. Or a quince can be considered a giant rose-hip. Compare the two, and you'll see what I mean, as they are all members of the rose family, and have similar fruits and flowers.

Once you have gathered a quantity of rosehips, cut each of them in half lengthways. You will then find that the seedpods are filled with bristley-like fibres. These fibres will catch in your throat, if you eat them, so they must be carefully removed. I simply scrape them out with my fingernail, but you can use an implement like a knife or nail-file to do so. Once you have scraped the bristles out, you will be left with a hard fruity shell. (Not much flesh, perhaps, after all the effort, but it's very rich in Vitamin C, and quite a tasty fruit.) Take the scraped rose-hips and give them a blast of water under a garden hose or tap to remove any lingering fibres.

Having examined your hips to make sure there are no fibres to get stuck in your throat, you can dry the hips and use them to make rose-hip tea with. Of course, you can make a fresh pot of rose-hip tea with fresh hips, too. You can make the hips into jelly/jam, to eat on bread and butter. Or one can cook the fruits into a syrup with sugar to give to babies, or to pour on ice cream.

You could actually just drop some whole fruits into a pot of hot water, and let them steep for a while that way. This would be a quick way to make rose-hip tea (or jelly) without the safety preparations as described above. I somehow suspect that some of the ready-made commercially available rose-hip teabags may still have the bristles still (safely) inside the bag. The main thing is to avoid the bristles, whether you do this by cutting them out, or draining them off afterwards. If you are gonna eat the fruits as a raw fresh outdoor snack, you will still be obliged to open them up and clean them out. They are very nice raw, and a better source of Vitamin C than a pill.

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[mandaramsey]

I found what I believe are rose hips while out foraging. I can't seem to find if there are any poisonous berries that mimic the look of them. Does anyone have any information about this? The flowers are gone, so I cannot identify them, but the leaves look like rose leaves and there were thorns as well. Thank you!

[zuditaka]

@mandaramsey Why not take a cutting of the plant, and the berries, and ask them at your local nursery? Best to be on the safe side, when foraging! Also, your local branch of the United States Department of Agriculture should have free information and brochures about "weeds" that can help you.Thanks for your comment! ♥

[19801290]

good video...i ve just made rosehip syrup for the first time ever...it came out great. I'll be making a second batch as they are everywhere and no one else seems to want to pick them!

[zuditaka]

@19801290 Very nice as topping on icecream! But I suppose that's decadent of me. I've bought the ready-made stuff, from the baby's section of the supermarket, and used it like that. But it also makes a cool and refreshing cordial for adults in summertime--once they get used to the taste!

[Dolphindream15]

@HairdoChicken  wow do you have the recipe,,,post it please

[anunnaki2006]

Rose Hips are very power food/herbs which work on the Kidneys, Stomach and bladder working on your respiratory they're quite drying though so if you have a lot of heat in your body then its best not to add to the drying of the Yin.

[zuditaka]

@LaoSoftware Thank you for your kind comment. Where I am, there are cold winters, and we would plant our seed out in winter, hoping they'd come up--in springtime. But you are in a more tropical, warmer location, so I guess anytime would be good there. But in a cold climate, like mine, they could be started indoors, I suppose. Some seeds might have a CHILLING requirement, so experiment and put some seeds in the frig for a couple of weeks--for "stratification". Yes, take the seeds out of the pod.

[LaoSoftware]

@zuditaka : I really enjoy watching your videos. When is it a good time to plant roses from seeds? Do I take the rose hips and take the seeds out? Then plant it?  Or do I wait until it gets really cold to plant the seeds? Thank you.

[zuditaka]

@HairdoChicken Yummy! Your grandmother's rosehip jam sounds delicious. I know it's wicked of me, but I have even been known to buy babies' rose hip teething syrup--and pour it on vanilla ice cream as a topping! Aren't I decadent? I've never tried the jam made out of rosepetals, though. That would be interesting and fragrant, like rosewater, I suppose....

[HairdoChicken]

@zuditaka My grandmother makes a beautiful rose jelly that has the consistancy of honey and is so delicious on toasted bread. MMM!