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I am going out soon, and will hopefully be hunting out rosehips. The hedgerows by me are absolutely brimming with them at the moment, and they are such a good plant for foraging (provided you leave some for the birds), that I thought I’d share what I tend to do with them.
Rose hips (which are excitingly known as an ‘accessory fruit’ or ‘pseudo-fruit’ of roses) can be harvested at this time of year and are incredibly high in Vitamin C.
They can be processed in a number of ways: into syrup, into jelly, or into a tea. Rose hips are easily recognisable, but its worth checking if you’re worried. Here's a good description of them: https://bit.ly/35NX2s0
They contain seeds covered in little hook-like hairs, which catch in the gullets of birds for distribution, and these are a historic form of itching powder and to be avoided. As a result, all recipes which boil up rosehips strain the resulting syrup/jelly through a muslin cloth.
Despite being a bit of a faff, rosehip syrup is delicious, and my Mum made it when we were little. This is a good recipe: https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/rosehip-syrup - a good tip is to freeze them before making this, as it increases their juice yield.
The reason I tend to make tea with mine is they are far less hassle to process this way. I’ve made powdered rosehip tea before, and sieved out the hooked hairs, but it wasn’t 100% effective. What I do now, is dry my rosehips whole.
They look very weird dried:
They look very weird dried:
All you need to do is pick them, looking for those with least blemishes, and wash them. You can then put them on wire cooling racks to dry, in a well ventilated place for a week or so, or you can dry them in a very low oven.
Once dry, they keep for several years, though lose some of their efficacy after a while. To make tea with them, I boil them in water for around 10 minutes, then steep them in the water for a further 15. The tea is delicious, tart and sunny tasting, & can be sweetened with honey.
In magical terms, the round shape of rose hips associates them with fertility and plenty, & they are said to be sacred to the goddess Venus, and helpful carried (dried!) in a purse, for money troubles. They're also good for stringing onto thread & hanging up for harmony at home.
So if you find them, there are some ideas! Its the right time of year to get them, before first frost.
