Rose Hips: The Vitamin C Powerhouse

Rose hips are the fruit of the rose bush, an edible and nutritious food with a history reaching back into ancient times. The rose hip, also known as the haw, forms at the base of the flower. Once the petals have fallen off, the hip develop into a tasty fruit that turns bright orange red as it matures.

The history of the rose for medicinal use

Legend tells us that the rose was first cultivated in Persia and China and is regarded as one of the oldest medicinal plants in history. By the first century AD, Pliny the Elder recorded some 32 medicinal uses for the rose plant.

In the United States, the Native Americans also recognized the importance of rose hips in their diets. They would harvest the hips to brew into tea, and save the soaked hips to add to their soups and stews.

During the inland fruit shortages of World War 2, the British Ministry of Health commissioned the gathering of hips to create syrup. Rose hips and hip syrup were promoted as an inexpensive and easily available source of Vitamin C, containing between 20 to 60 times the Vitamin C of a regular orange.

Vitamin C isn't all the rose hip provides; these power packed fruits also contain antioxidant rich bioflavonoids, Vitamins A, B- complex, K and E, carotenes, lycopene, and iron.

Medical benefits

With all that nutrition, rose hips have become popular again as a natural food that is rich in vitamins, boosts the immune system, and can prevent and treat various infections. Hips are said to aid in the development of collagen and reduce stress. There seems to be some medical studies that indicate that rose hips may be also beneficial in the prevention of certain types of cancer, for treating rheumathroid arthritis, and preventing the development of kidney stones.

Vitamin C content

Not all hips have high concentrations of Vitamin C. Domestic roses, such as the ones you find in your yard are lower in Vitamin C than their wild counterparts. Wild varieties, such as the Rosa canina or R. Rugosa can contain between 1500-2500 grams of Vitamin C per 100 grams of weight. Oranges on the other hand, contain around 53 mgs of Vitamin C per 100 grams of weight.

Any wild rose hip will work for making tea; just be sure the fruits you glean aren't from a bush that has been sprayed with pesticides or exposed to car exhaust.

Harvest and Preparation

The best time to harvest rose hips is after the first frost. After gathering the fruits, snap off the stems and tails, and spread them on a clean wooden board to dry. When the skins start to feel dry and shriveled, the fruit should be split open and all the seeds removed since the seeds can aggravate the digestive system. Don't let the hips dry too much, or it will be difficult to remove the seeds.

Once the seeds have been removed, replace them on the board, and let dry completely. After they have dried, they can be chopped into small pieces, placed in a clean yogurt container or storage bag, and stored in the freezer.

Brewing Tea

There are several different ways of brewing rose hip tea. Many recipes call for just steeping the hips in hot water, as you would dried tea leaves. i've discovered that the brew is much tastier if the dried hips are boiled in the water for 10 to 15 minutes. Since certain kinds of metal do react with the fruit, it's best to prepare them using only stainless steel.

The proportions of rose hips to water is a personal preference. Our family uses a heaping tablespoon per cup which yields a pinkish tea with a slight acid taste. To make the beverage more tasty, honey is added as sweetener. The combination of rose hip tea and honey also makes for a therapeutic beverage when someone in the family is suffering from a winter cold and sore throat.

After you finish the tea, don't throw out the leftover fruit at the bottom of the kettle! Rose hips can be eaten straight from the tea pot, or cooked up in one of several dishes. We stir the hips into sweetened vanilla yogurt for a tasty and fruity dessert.