Raw Rose Hips

[Guest guest]

Found this cool article on the net about rose hips, the highest frequency food!!

 

Rose Hips—Jazz Up Your Jelly in the Fall

Plants & Gardens News Volume 15, Number 3 | Fall 2000

by Joelen Adams

 

As the last roses bloom in my garden each fall, I look forward to a bountiful

crop of rose

hips. These shapely, colorful hips are the seed-bearing fruits of rose plants,

and it's no

secret that they are edible.

We humans have been munching on rose hips—and petals—for millennia. In ancient

Rome,

hips were used as a flavoring for candy, among other things. Nowadays, we mainly

dry

them for tea or boil them for preserves.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother taught me how to make a delicious green

apple

jelly from scratch. She then taught me how, in the fall, I could add an extra

special twist to

the jelly using fresh rose hips. It's a perfect combination. After all, roses

and apples are

botanical cousins. I like to think of hips as miniature " rose apples. "

Not all rose hips are palatable, however. Some are too small and hard—just skin

and pips,

with very little flesh. Generally, the plumper the hips, the better. The best

and biggest hips

in my yard are on 'Altissimo' (a climber) and 'Hansa' (one of the rugosas).

In his book Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, Steve Brill

likens the

flavor of rose hips to apricot and their texture to persimmon. He eats his rose

hips raw

(minus the seeds, which are very bitter). He also cooks them in fruit juice,

strains and

purees them, and uses the resulting sauce in everything from cookies to fruit

soup.

Jolene's Grandma's Rose Hip Jelly

Place 5 cups of dried apple slices into a deep cooking pot, cover with warm

water, and let

stand overnight. (Fresh apples won't do because their abundance of pectin would

turn the

jelly into rubber). The next day, add 5 cups of fresh rose hips (whole or

chopped) into the

pot and cover with warm water. Bring the pot to a boil and cook until very soft.

Drain off

the liquid through a jelly bag or cloth into a new pot. Add 2 cups of sugar for

each pint of

juice and boil for another 20 minutes or until mixture jells into a thick mass

when dropped

from a spoon into cold water. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Rose hips are very nutritious, providing high doses of vitamin C and

bioflavonoids. They

are also a source of vitamins A, E, and B-1, as well as potassium, phosphorus,

calcium,

and iron.

All rose hips start out hard and green at first and, as they ripen, soften and

change color.

You'll know that they're ready for eating when their sides " give " slightly under

gentle

pressure.

So, if I've managed to pique your interest in rose cuisine, here are some

general

instructions for harvesting and preparing rose hips fresh from the garden:

For lots of hips come fall, stop deadheading your roses in August.

Be sure to only use hips from roses that haven't been sprayed with insecticide

or dusted

with sulfur.

Hips are often tastiest if left on the bush until after first frost. However, if

the color is

right, and they feel ripe, you can pick them.

Wash the hips and trim off the blossom and stem ends with scissors.

Cut in half lengthwise and remove the tiny hairs and the seeds from the center.

There's no

need to do this if you're just making jelly because the seeds will be strained

off anyway.

Don't use aluminum utensils or pans as they can destroy the vitamin C.

[Guest guest]

Mmmmmm, I was just at Cape Cod, where salt spray roses grow like weeds. They produce the best rose hips I've ever tasted. In the flate summer and fall, we go for walks and just eat the darkest, plumpest hips as we go by the bushes.Even my kids love them!Elisebossalingo <bossalingo wrote: Found this cool article on the net about rose hips, the highest frequency food!! Rose Hips—Jazz Up Your Jelly in the Fall Plants & Gardens News Volume 15, Number 3 | Fall 2000 by Joelen Adams As the last

roses bloom in my garden each fall, I look forward to a bountiful crop of rose hips. These shapely, colorful hips are the seed-bearing fruits of rose plants, and it's no secret that they are edible. We humans have been munching on rose hips—and petals—for millennia. In ancient Rome, hips were used as a flavoring for candy, among other things. Nowadays, we mainly dry them for tea or boil them for preserves. When I was a little girl, my grandmother taught me how to make a delicious green apple jelly from scratch. She then taught me how, in the fall, I could add an extra special twist to the jelly using fresh rose hips. It's a perfect combination. After all, roses and apples are botanical cousins. I like to think of hips as miniature "rose apples." Not all rose hips are palatable, however. Some are too small and hard—just skin and pips, with very little flesh. Generally, the plumper the hips, the better. The best and biggest

hips in my yard are on 'Altissimo' (a climber) and 'Hansa' (one of the rugosas). In his book Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, Steve Brill likens the flavor of rose hips to apricot and their texture to persimmon. He eats his rose hips raw (minus the seeds, which are very bitter). He also cooks them in fruit juice, strains and purees them, and uses the resulting sauce in everything from cookies to fruit soup. Jolene's Grandma's Rose Hip Jelly Place 5 cups of dried apple slices into a deep cooking pot, cover with warm water, and let stand overnight. (Fresh apples won't do because their abundance of pectin would turn the jelly into rubber). The next day, add 5 cups of fresh rose hips (whole or chopped) into the pot and cover with warm water. Bring the pot to a boil and cook until very soft. Drain off the liquid through a jelly bag or cloth into a new pot. Add 2 cups of sugar for each pint of juice

and boil for another 20 minutes or until mixture jells into a thick mass when dropped from a spoon into cold water. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Rose hips are very nutritious, providing high doses of vitamin C and bioflavonoids. They are also a source of vitamins A, E, and B-1, as well as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and iron. All rose hips start out hard and green at first and, as they ripen, soften and change color. You'll know that they're ready for eating when their sides "give" slightly under gentle pressure. So, if I've managed to pique your interest in rose cuisine, here are some general instructions for harvesting and preparing rose hips fresh from the garden: For lots of hips come fall, stop deadheading your roses in August. Be sure to only use hips from roses that haven't been sprayed with insecticide or dusted with sulfur. Hips are often tastiest if left on the bush until after first frost.

However, if the color is right, and they feel ripe, you can pick them. Wash the hips and trim off the blossom and stem ends with scissors. Cut in half lengthwise and remove the tiny hairs and the seeds from the center. There's no need to do this if you're just making jelly because the seeds will be strained off anyway. Don't use aluminum utensils or pans as they can destroy the vitamin C.

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