Why Eat Rose Hips?
Probably the best reason to eat or drink rose hips is the
incredible source of vitamin C that it provides. Studies
have shown vitamin C to be helpful with fighting infection,
colds/flu, sore throat, fatigue and stress to name a few.
Hips provide almost 20 times the amount of vitamin C found
in Oranges.
How do I Grow Rose Hips?
As I have mentioned, there seams to be a consensus that
Rosa rugosa is the best plant to use for growing rose hips.
Let the blooms die on the bush (resist the temptation to
cut the beautiful blooms, the more you cut the less hips
you will produce) and the hips will begin to form. They
will start out green and begin to turn red similar to the
way a tomato ripens. Harvest them when they become completely
red but not overripe, this usually occurs after the first
frost.
Preparing the Hips
You can use rose hips either fresh off the vine, dried,
or preserved. To dry the fruit spread the hips out on a
clean surface. Allow them to dry until the skin begins to
feel dry and slightly shriveled. At this point, split the
hips in half and take out all of the seeds and tiny hairs
in the center. Remember not to use aluminum pans or utensils
as this will destroy some of the vitamin C.
After the seeds are removed you can let the hips dry completely.
Don’t wait to remove the seeds until hips are completely
dry or you will have trouble with de-seeding.
Store the dried hips in sealed plastic bags. Freeze for
long term use or put in the refrigerator if you plan on
using over a two or three month period. Hips can be eaten
as a semi-sweet snack at anytime. You can also make tea
and preserves; I have listed two recipes below to get you
started.
What about Supplements?
Rose hip supplements are available at most health food
and vitamin stores. For me, the fun is in making your own
hips. If you just want vitamin C there isn’t really
a whole lot of difference between taking regular vitamin
C supplement and vitamin C with rose hips (except the price,
hips will cost a bit more).
Rose Hip Recipes
If you are fortunate enough to have roses at your home,
here are some recipes you might want to try:
Rose Hip Tea Recipe
- Place 4-6 hips (prepared as noted above) in the bottom
of a non-aluminum pan
- Add 2 cups of cool water
- Allow water to come to a boil
- Let simmer for about 30 minutes (less if you like a
weaker tea)
- Strain and add sweetener to taste
Rose Hip Marmalade
- Prepare hips as noted above and soak in cool water for
several hours
- Bring hips soaking in water to a boil for about 20 minutes
- Strain out water
- Add one cup of brown sugar or granulated sugar per one
cup of the strained water
- Boil the sweetened water until it becomes thick and
syrupy
- Add the previously boiled hips and continue boiling
until hips are tender
- Pour into jars and seal
Enjoy!!
Click
here for Vitamin C with Rose Hips
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