Rosehips

[Biddlesby]

Never tried these before, but have been seeing them around. The standard questions :

- Any easily confused poisonous varieties? Are all rosehips edible?
- Recipies - they don't look very tasty raw. At least not at the moment
- Best time of year to collect?

Cheers,

 

[Toddy]

No, yes, masses, delicious and now!

A bit of a footer to scrape out the itchy coos though.
Hips are sweet and juicy when cooked, can taste as good as apples depending on the variety, and are high in Vitamin C.
There have been a couple of old threads giving recipes somewhere. I was given some rosehip fruit leather last year and it was just excellent.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[spamel]

Dog rose, or rosa canina, is the plant you want to cllect them from. August to October is supposed to be the time to collect them although I have found them later in the year and still looked OK. High in vitamin C, it is also a diuretic, and therefore don't drink too much rose hip tea or you'll wee the bed!!!

You can make jam from the rose hips aswell, but remember when you do use them to remove the small hairs from the inside of the hip, they can play merry hell with your gut!!

 

[Biddlesby]

Wow, that was quick.

I did have a quick search through some threads, but only the first page. Perhaps I'll have a better look.

Sweet and juicy?? Perhaps I've been collecting the wrong things. Do all roses have them?

 

[Toddy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/food/recipe93.shtml

http://www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes/wildfood6.html

http://www.gardenworld.co.uk/project.asp

Syrup, soup & chutney The hips are also used for wine and mead

There are lots of recommendations to wait until the haws are frosted but I don't like them squishy and they go mouldy too quickly then too.

atb,
Toddy

 

[Toddy]

All roses have them but not all varieties are juicy. Most are a bit.....I want to say dry, but that's the wrong word, it's texture is a bit like a thin slice of under ripe apple, but the taste is totally different from apple, in fact they can be pretty insipid. You've just got to try lots of different types 'til you find ones you like.

The only pest about rosehips are the little hairy seeds Scraping them out gets old, quick I think that's why the syrup is so popular, if you can find a good cloth strainer bag (Millbank? anybody tried one? I just use a jelly bag) there's no need to deal with the blasted hairs at all

atb,
Toddy

 

[chickenofthewoods]

I'll admit to top/tail and scraping out rosehips, but that's because I actually like some of the pulpy residue to go in with the syrup. This is because it thickens it and adds body when you're using it in plain yogurt. It is a pain in th b*tt tho' and those hairs are very irritating (playground itching powder was what we used to use them it for), so don't get any of them on your clothes....

 

[falling rain]

Rosehips are a bit hard until after a few frosts in my opinion, and are better cooked or steeped in boiling water for tea than raw.

 

[baggins]

At the moot, Mors was saying that the small, hard seed inside, can be ground up and is very nutritional. I guess you'd need rather alot of them though.

 

[Toddy]

Rosehip seed oil is now available. It's edible but it's also a very good emollient in skin preparations.

http://www.bodykind.com/product.asp...&PartnerID=6&gclid=CPan_Jeyj4cCFSdRQgod8jK_wg

This link was picked at random from google, I have not used the company nor do I have any connection with it.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Believe me, if you do the scraping thing with your hips, you'll get a lot of seeds as a by-product!

I suppose you could soak them in water to remove the bulk of the hairs and then dry and grind them....

 

[Toddy]

True, true
I actually like paring the hip with a really sharp knife and just chewing the fleshy peel. That way I can have them when I'm out without worrying about the hairs at all. Depends on the variety though, some are really tiny. I do like them as Falling Rain said, as tea too.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Snufkin]

I've tried several kinds of rosehips and I find them all unpleasant . Lots of other nice things to eat about at the moment though.

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Ohhh I dunno, the tastiest hip has to be the rosa rugosa IMHO. It's a fantastic, big, bright red, fleshy great beastie, with a delicious fruity/citrus kick. Not a native, admittedly, but truly excellent for culinary use if you have access to enough of them.

Wild hips vary so much in size, If I'm doing a recipe, I usually go for the biggest I can find to reduce prepping time - but if it's for wine it's not really an issue as they can go in wholesale anyway. They do make lovely tea, and paring them with a sharp knife is a very neat way to avoid the hair & pips!

 

[Earthpeace]

Want are you all on about top and tailing, and pulling out the seeds/hairs?
I been drinking rose hip tea for years. All I do is....Get the fresh wild rose hip put it through the mincer whole. ( you have to put in a few at a time, its hard work for the mincer) Then I dry the minced rose hips on trays covered in muslin, in my dehydrator. To make tea you get 1-2 teaspoons of hips and put in a tea ball put in cup of hot water with a little honey to taste.
I've made rose hip wine too very, very nice the problem it gets drunk too quickly
I used to make syrup but don't like the amount of sugar that go's in, the tea far healthier.
P.S the seeds once left in hot water a while taste nice and nutty.

 

[ScottC]

When I've made rosehip tea it's always tasted revolting

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Want are you all on about top and tailing, and pulling out the seeds/hairs?

Horses for courses....... I personally don't like them so I take them out.

Do like rosehip tea though. But not with added hairy bits!

 

[Earthpeace]

Horses for courses....... I personally don't like them so I take them out.

Do like rosehip tea though. But not with added hairy bits!

If the hairy bits bother you, simply get the dry minced rose hips and give them a good shake in a sieve.
I find when you put dried rose hips in the boiling water the the hairs make no noticeable difference. I think its a bit like nettles, you would not eat one raw but cooked there ok because the sting gets killed when cook.

 

[wanderinstar]

I have seen 2 sorts of rosehips. 1 about1/2" dia and the other about 1" dia. Are they both good to use?

 

[Montivagus]

Want are you all on about top and tailing, and pulling out the seeds/hairs?
.

I agree; life’s too short. I put them through a food mill – you know a sort of hand puréer /sieve with a crank handle (I can’t remember the more fancy pro-chef name). Works a treat!