Rose Hip Tea

[Toadflax]

Following in Ray and Gordon's footsteps, the next episode in my adventure of foraging for wild food from my garden reached the rose bush today, where there is a good crop of hips hanging on the bare stems.

I used a Xylaria recipe that I found on another thread, topping and tailing half a dozen or so of the hips, splitting them in two and scraping out the seeds, before rinsing them. I then simmered them for 20 minutes in a beakerful of water and strained them.

I had expected quite a sweet, sticky tea but the first impression was rather bland like a weak breakfast tea, but by the time I had finished the beaker, I was thinking "I like this" and appreciating the flavour.

I kept the, now softened, shells and, having seen that the American Indians used to make the tea and then put the husks into stews, I put them into the pottage that I made for my dinner this evening, giving myself even more Vitamin C boost by adding some wavy bittercress at the end of the cooking. The flavour of the bittercress really came through nicely.

So, unlike most of my other wild food experimentation, rose hips aren't bitter!

Geoff

 

[nicodiemus]

I was going to ask if you had to remove the seeds. I heard they were irritant. I want to try it now.. i'll have to visit my nan's. She has a rose garden!

 

[Toadflax]

I believe that you can leave the hips whole, and then throw them away after boiling, but removing the seeds does mean that you can then eat (and get the goodness from) the husks. It is a bit fiddly to do - the seeds cling quite tenaciously to the husks. I cut the hips in half and, as my nails are quite long at the moment, I could just use my thumbnail to remove them. The wrong end of a teaspoon also worked quite well. Then again, you only need 6-10 hips for a cup of tea, so it isn't too much effort.

If you are going to make syrup, then I understand that you would boil up the seeds whole but then sieve the mush through muslin or something similar in order to remove the seeds /hairs.


Geoff

 

[nicodiemus]

Ah, so its the hairs on the seeds that are irritating?
I might give it a go. Are any old rosehips ok?

 

[fred gordon]

This sounds very interesting and as my house is surrounded by a rose hedge I will need to have a go. Can rose hips be harvested and dried after removing the pips? If they can it would be a great item to take on a bimble rather than a teabag!

 

[spamel]

Rose hips from the dog rose are what you are after.

 

[Mang]

Rose hips from the dog rose are what you are after.

Those are the fat ones aren't they? I use the smaller Rosehips and yes the hairs are irritating (used to make itching powder!). I usually bash the hip with the side of a knife and I find this helps get the hairs and seeds out well.

I usually leave the hips soaking in water for a while and then add some Honey. Once the frost gets 'em a few times they go soft and manky.

 

[xylaria]

Thingswelike dry their rose hips, mrs thingwelike said there is nack to getting the seeds out, which comes with practice. Personally I find life a little short to deseed large quantities, and so i will squeeze them boiled through a cloth.

Rose hips in the wild are very persistant as a fruit. The japanese hips have been there since july, and dog hips are about perfect now for a fresh hedge snack packed with vitamins. I like eating rosa rugosa hips (japanese rose) straight off the hedge and nibbleing the flesh off carefully from the seeds.

Fat soft red one=japanese hips
small hard red and pointy =dog rose
medium size black fat one=burnet rose

 

[BushVen]

Beware !
The large garden variety of rose hips should be avoided as they are Toxic !
I agree that its always best to remove the seeds before cooking, they are hairy and can irritate the throat. Sharpen a small stick like a chisel shape and scrap the seeds out.
If you only require the juice then mush-up the whole hip and then boil and strain the juice using a cloth, just like dvcalvert described.
You will find that the hips are sweet after boiling / stewing, this releases the natural sugars and can be a real energy boost when living from the land.

Hope this helps

 

[Toadflax]

there is nack to getting the seeds out, which comes with practice.

I found that even after only doing 10 hips, I was getting much quicker at digging the seeds out with my nails. Then again, I had a fairly long thumbnail at the time, which has now been cut.

Rose hips in the wild are very persistant as a fruit.

Yes, I remember in February when I was first starting to take a serious interest in wild food that I noticed in particular lots of rose hips still on the bushes - though, as I didn't try any of them, I don't know if they had gone mushy.

Can rose hips be harvested and dried after removing the pips?

Yes, but you may get pretty bored de-seeding lots of them! Have a look at post No 9 by chickenofthewoods in this thread http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17139&highlight=rose+hip+tea.

The large garden variety of rose hips should be avoided as they are Toxic !

That's interesting - my memory tells me that Gordon Hillman in the Wild Food book says that all are edible...must check this evening if my memory is correct.



Geoff

 

[BushVen]

I worked with Gordon for 5 years, he told me that the garden variety (generally the very large ones that are slightly orange in colour) are toxic This was a few years ago (2 years).
I have also been told this by one other ethnobotanist and another botanist.

I don't have the wild foods book as I'm waiting for Gordons version to come out next year. Does the book say all 'wild' rose hips, dog rose or all rose hips ?

 

[Toadflax]

I worked with Gordon for 5 years, he told me that the garden variety (generally the very large ones that are slightly orange in colour) are toxic This was a few years ago (2 years).
I have also been told this by one other ethnobotanist and another botanist.

I don't have the wild foods book as I'm waiting for Gordons version to come out next year. Does the book say all 'wild' rose hips, dog rose or all rose hips ?

I'll have a check in the book when I get home this evening and let you know what it says. I wasn't disputing your statement - just commenting - it's probably my memory! I suspect that your memory from working with Gordon is going to be much better than mine from one reading of Wild Food!


Geoff

 

[BushVen]

Errmm... what was I writing about ?

I don't think that you are disputing my statement, it may be that Gordon has changed his opinion, due to further research, or that the book is not specific enough. It may be that from working with Gordon for so long and trying to retain his excellent knowledge, he has totally messed-up my head !
When you look at the book can make a note of the latin name, it should be Rosa canina. There are many cultivated versions, Rosa Canina ' Assisen', these are normally larger than the 'wild' dog rose.

Thanks ! What was I doing ?

 

[topknot]

I have read somewhere that rose hips are the new buzzword for joint promlems.

 

[Toadflax]

Well, I'm relieved to know that my memory isn't failing me. RM/GH's Wild Food does include a separate entry for Japanese Rose / Rosa rugosa with pictures of those huge chunky hips, rather like miniature doughnuts.

To paraphrase some of the entry: "reason for including this rose is that is has a very high concentration of vitamin C, not to mention high levels of other anti-oxidants and nutrients...its hips are quicker to process...as they soften very quickly."

So maybe Gordon has done a bit more research on this one.


Geoff

 

[xylaria]

I have eaten japanese hips and I am still here!!

If you over consume any high nutrient food you can get diarheoa. I would not eat rose hips from someone garden as I don't know what it has been sprayed with or what treatments in has been given in the passed. I have never eaten burnet rose in any quantity.

Toxicology is all about quantity of the poison and the wieght of person eating it. You kill youself by eating to many carrots, or onions but nobody thinks of them as poisonious plants. Livers are very clever organs, and we trust them to thier job.

 

[BushVen]

Thanks for the info dgclavert.
There are over 1,000 different varieties of cultivated 'rose hips', therefore when picking them for food etc... we should be 100% certain that we have the edible variety, such as you have described, and not just a 'rose hip'.

Xyalria
I agree with your comments about taking rose hips from gardens, we don't know what chemicals may be on them.
Anything can be toxic if taken in quantity even air and water. We must also be aware of several other points such as long term effects of eating certain wild foods, how it may effect the old, young, or people with certain common medical conditions.

Topknot
I have also read that rose hips are good for joint problems.

I would rather be cautious and be proved wrong (and possible look foolish), rather than say nothing and someone becomes ill or worse !

 

[xylaria]

Ok I have looked and looked, I can not find a single medically referenced case of poisoning due to the consumption of rose hips. I not saying my home library or my googling are perfect, but there is nothing on pubmed or any odd chemicals in Dr dukes

The order Rosaceae contains quite a few species that have cyanogenic glycosides, but I have found no reference to rose-hips containing anything of note which is a little surprising. They can cause skin infections due the hairs, tetanus and anaphylaxis, but I unless I find a good cause to be suspect, I will continue eating wild rose hips.

Rose hip syrup was fed to children under the age two, and was good for the infirm.

 

[BushVen]

Please see extract below:

In Turkey, the majority of the population live in rural areas where they use wild plants as food and medicine. The confusion of an edible plant with a poisonous one give rise to serious poisoning which may even result in death. The incidence of plant poisoning in Turkey is about 6% and especially high among children between ages of 2 and 11 living in rural areas. The number of species that cause poisoning is around twenty and Hyoscyamus niger (Solanaceae), Colchicum species (Liliaceae), Conium maculatum (Umbelliferae) and Prunus species (Rosaceae) are the most important. Mushroom poisoning is more frequent in spring and fall. The main reasons are their widespread usage as food and the inexperience of the gatherers in distinguishing the edibles from the poisonous. Amanita phalloides, A. verna, A. muscaria, A. pantherina are responsible for severe cases of poisoning.
PMID: 7857034 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Note the 'Prunus species (Rosaceae)' .
I feel the word 'rose hip' is not specific enough. It is used to describe a large family group of which there are over 1000 varities. Using the common name for plants can cause confussion which is why we should always try to include the latin.
I prefer to only use those wild foods which have been proven to be safe to eat rather than those which have not been proven to be toxic or poisonous.
I have also eaten 'wild rose hips' for many years, but I always ensure I only use those varities that have been proven to be edible.

 

[cariboo]

We live in a wild rose garden, literally. We water them in the summer, thin them out and let them grow. We make jam, jelly,wine and put the dried whole rosehips in soups, stews and tea.

The Chilcotin people (the aboriginals here) have lived by them for thousands of years. There are lots of stories about gold seekers and pioneers warding off death from the life- saving rosehip sticking above the snow in the -40 winters.

We pick them after the first frost which for us is the first week in September, but they can be harvested anytime after they ripen. It can be a harsh living here and the wild Nootka rose seems to be the light.

P.s. our chickens go crazy for rosehips.