picking rosehips for winter tea

15 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Delena Rose in tea, wild berries

Tags

berry picking, herbal tea, immune-boosting tea, Lucy, rose hips, rosehip tea, rosehips, tea, vitamin C, winter tea

I like to let the tea steep overnight and the next day make a delicious rosehip ice tea with a squeeze of lemon. ~Beverley Gray, Aroma Borealis

Last evening, we brought our berry picking baskets with us on the evening walk. The rosehips have been turning bright red, beckoning us cheerfully along the trail and letting us know that they are ready for picking. As I still have many jars of rosehip jelly and syrup from last summer I have decided to simply freeze this year’s berries and use them for winter teas.

I pull the ends off of the hips before freezing in large ziplock bags so that they are ready for use straight from the freezer. Then, when I am feeling under the weather in the winter months I can dip into the bag for a quick immune-boosting tea. Click here for a previous post on the medicinal and nutritional benefits of rosehips, or recipes for rosehip jelly and rosehip syrup.

For the tea, I use about half a cup of hips to about six cups of water. I allow the tea to steep on the stove on low heat for a few hours and add agave nectar (to taste) to sweeten.

Lucy also kept us company on the trail. She is a handy berry-picking companion as she is always on the alert for coyotes or the rare bear. She also keeps the spruce grouse, mice and pocket gophers busy!

rosehip jelly (Rosa acicularis)

13 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by Delena Rose in cook, forage, preserve, wild berries

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

canning, preserving, rose hips, rosehip jelly, rosehips, tart jelly, vitamin C, wild berry jelly

This jelly is very high in vitamin C and has a wonderful tangy, hibiscus-like flavor. Serve on toast, pancakes, waffles, crepes or on top of a wheel of brie.

rosehip jelly

8 cups of rose hips

6 cups of water

4 cups of the prepared juice

1 box of certo

1/2 cup lemon juice (bottled or fresh)

5 cups of organic sugar (I only used 3 cups as I like my jelly tart in flavor)

Remove stems and wash rosehips. Put hips into a stainless steel pot (never use aluminum as this destroys the vitamin C) and add water. Boil for about 10 – 15 minutes, until the fruit is soft enough to crush. Crush and squeeze through jelly bag. Put prepared juice into stainless steel pot, add lemon juice and certo and bring to a boil. Add sugar and boil hard for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars up to ¼ inch from the top and seal.

Enjoy!

rosehips (Rosa acicularis)

12 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by Delena Rose in forage, tea, wild berries

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

berry picking, culinary uses of rosehips, foraging, medicinal uses of rosehips, Rosa acicularis, rose hips, rosehips

This evening, Lucy and I took our time on our walk and I picked rosehips. I always know that summer is nearly over and autumn is just beginning when the wild rose bushes are covered with the small, scarlet fruit. Usually it is best to harvest rosehips after the first frost when they are sweetest, but I had noticed that the deep red fruits were beginning to dry out and wrinkle so I thought I had better pick them sooner rather than later.

Nutritional Information:

Rose hips contain iron, calcium, phosphorus and flavinoids. They are richer than oranges in vitamin C. In fact, according to Beverley Gray, 3 rosehips contain the same amount of vitamin C as an orange. It is not surprising to learn that during the Second World War, British soldiers gathered huge quantities of rosehips when they could no longer import citrus fruits.

Be careful not to eat the seeds as they are covered with fine, silvery hairs which can cause digestive problems if ingested. Cut the hips in half and scrape clean.

Culinary Uses:

Rosehips can be used whole in teas and syrups (crush the fruit then steep in hot water for 15-20 minutes, then strain the liquid), or made into jams and jellies. They can also be dried (cut in half and remove seeds first) then later ground into a powder and added to other wild tea blends.

Dried seedless rose hips make a delicious and easy-to-prepare jam. Simply cover them with fresh apple juice and let them soak overnight. The next day, the jam will be ready to eat. Cinnamon and other spices can add more flavor, but the jam is quite good as it is. ~ Rosemary Gladstar

Medicinal use:

treat anemia
treat menstrual cramping (antispasmodic)
for bladder or kidney irritations (antibacterial)
excellent heart tonic (bioflavinoids)
to strengthens capillaries and treat varicose veins and hemorrhoids (bioflavinoids)
help regulate blood circulation
relieve teething symptoms (give 4 to drops of the syrup every hour for infants)

Rosehip seed oil is available commercially and is very high in essential fatty acids. According to Stephanie Tourles, this makes it “ideal for mature, environmentally-damaged, prematurely aged and devitalized skin”. Add the oil to you homemade creams and lotions.

Pop in tomorrow and I’ll share my rosehip jelly recipe. I may also try Beverley Gray’s recipe for rosehip syrup with brandy. See you then!