rose hips?

[curly_kate]

I was hiking on our property and discovered bunches of rose hips. I read that they are very good for you so I'd like to make something out of them. Any of you guys cook with rose hips?

 

[journey11]

I use them in a calming tea made with chamomile and oatstraw. You can also make jam/jelly with them, I hear. They have a sweet, tart flavor and are very high in vitamin C.

 

[curly_kate]

Do you dry them before you make tea? And what is oatstraw?

 

[journey11]

Yep, you would cut of the tips, slice them in half, scoop out the seeds and gently dehydrate. (Use fresh for jam.)

Oat straw is literally the stem of the oat plant, straw. You need organically grown straw though, and freshly dried (not off a bale ) It is surprisingly rich in vitamins and minerals and is good for nervous tension. I buy mine from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

 

[baymule]

I've never made anything with rose hips because I never had very many at one time. But I have eaten them off the rose bushes. They are tart. It just facinates my 5 year old grand daughter to watch her Mamaw eat flowers.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

What do you think about this, Kate? Rose Hips chutney

Or this Rose Hips jelly/jam

 

[Smiles Jr.]

So if I have a rose bush and I allow the flowers to die and dry out without cutting them off, will there be a little HIP there eventually?

 

[curly_kate]

Those recipes look good, but I don't think I'll be able to collect quite that many. Also, what might a sultana be? Fom what I read, the hip will form on any rose that's left to die back naturally. We've got wild roses growing around here, so I guess I'm going on another hike tomorrow.

 

[thistlebloom]

So if I have a rose bush and I allow the flowers to die and dry out without cutting them off, will there be a little HIP there eventually?

Yes,the hip is the seed pod. Not all roses are equal in the hip department. Some hybrids just produce puny little things. The best roses for hips are the rugosas, and next IMO, would be wild roses. I like them best after a nip of frost. Wild rose hips
can just be popped in your mouth and munched. The rugosas are huge and the seeds are pretty big too.

 

[897tgigvib]

Some kinds of roses make more and bigger hips than other kinds. Some of the hybrid tea fancy roses only make a few hips, and some kinds of roses make small hips. Some are very dry, some kinds are very juicy.

Rugosa roses make good big rose hips. If you get nice big Rugosa rose hips, they can be sliced in half, cleaned up some, steamed just a little, and put a blackberry in it and make hor d'ouevres with them! (I love that horse duvres word that's pronounced orderves).

Sounds like you have some nice wild roses!

Waheenee mentioned about rose hips in Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden. Her own Hidatsa Sioux tribe would not eat them except in emergency, but their neighbor Sioux tribe, the Arikara ate them as a major staple. She had a funny story about how a Hidatsa woman who married an Arikara man and lived in the Hidatsa village. The Arikara husband went to go hunting one day and failed to get any meat, so he did not want to come home empty handed. He found a great patch of rose hips and loaded up every pocket, his moccasins, even his britches with rose hips, and brought them to his wife thinking she would be pleased with his find. Hoo boy! She was furious at him, and as custom in the tribe, he was publically humiliated for one day. He meant well, so all was well after.

I found a blog about rose hip tea

http://madteaparty.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/rose-hip-tea/