Foraging for Wild Rose Hips is a simple and enjoyable nature-based activity to do with your kids. And the wild rose hip tea you can make with them is delicious and chock full of Vitamin C!
Recently, we foraged for Wild Rose Hips to make tea. Read on to find out how to make Wild Rose Hip Tea and learn all about its benefits.
Foraging for Rose Hips to Make WILD ROSE HIP TEA
- What are rose hips? They are the edible seed pods, or fruit, that grow on the wild rose plant. The most common rose plant, and one that makes good fruit for foraging, is Rosa Rugosa (rugosa rose).
- What time of year can you find rose hips? The rose hips form in late summer and early fall after the roses have bloomed. The best time to forage for them is right after the first frost, because the coldness increases the natural sugar content, making them sweeter. Don’t worry if you harvest them before the first frost, the nutritional benefits will still exist!
- Where can you find them? The wild rose can be found all over North America. It’s particularly common from Alaska to Quebec, the northern US and New Mexico. It grows in open areas and clearings. They also like coastal areas and sandy locations too.
- How do you pick them? As we all know, rose bushes are thorny. If you’re picking carefully, you can avoid getting pricked by thorns, but to make it easier, you could use thick leather gloves. Once the rose hip is firm and red in color, you can just pluck off the fruit from the end of the branch. Just use the red fruit part, not the green leaves.
- What do they taste like? Their flavor is earthy and citrusy. And they smell a bit like sun-dried tomatoes. The tea is really delicious when it’s sweetened with a little honey.
How to make wild rose hip tea
Forage for rose hips. After you locate a patch of wild roses and you’ve identified they are ripe and ready to be picked, grab a basket and start picking! Pick at least 1-2 cups of fresh wild rose hips.
Clean the rose hips. Once you get your basket of rose hips home, rinse them well and lay them flat on a towel to dry. There is no need to de-seed them, but be sure to clip off any leaves and stems.
Make tea with fresh rose hips. To brew tea using fresh rose hips, use 1/4 cup fresh rose hips to 1 cup of water. Pour boiling water over the rose hips. Let the tea steep, covered, for 15-30 minutes. No need to de-seed or trim them. Using them as-is works great. [Tip – the tea steeps faster if you mash up the rose hips, instead of leaving them whole.] Then, strain out the pulp. Add honey for sweetener, if desired.
Make tea with dried rose hips. Trim off the tops and bottoms of the clean rose hips. Spread them on a baking sheet and put them in the sunshine to dry. Or if you want to speed things up, bake them for 5-7 hours at 175-200 degrees. Don’t worry about scooping out the little seeds, they can stay in! Once the rose hips are fully hard and dry, use a food processor to pulse them until they are crushed. Crush them to about the size of tea leaves. Then store them in a glass jar in a cool dry place.
To brew tea using dried rose hips, use 1 tablespoon of dried rose hips to 1 cup of water. Pour boiling water over the dried rose hips. Let the tea steep, covered, for 15-30 minutes, and then strain out the pulp. [Tip – the tea tastes stronger and steeps faster using dried rose hips instead of fresh.] Add honey for sweetener, if desired.
Wild Rose Hip Tea benefits
- Nutritional benefits. Wild Rose Hips are an excellent source of natural Vitamin C. In fact, they have up to 25 times more Vitamin C than oranges! They were traditionally used to cure or prevent scurvy. They are an antioxidant and are also very rich in Vitamins E, K, and B. All of these nutritional benefits make them a perfect herbal remedy. Just in time for flu season too! And guess what? The wild rose hip tea even tastes good! Just ask my tea-loving 4-year-old son, who requests his “rosie-hip tea” all the time.
- Medicinal benefits. According to WebMD, rose hips are also used for diarrhea, constipation, gallstones, gallbladder ailments, lower urinary tract and kidney disorders, fluid retention, gout, back and leg pain, diabetes, high cholesterol, weight loss, high blood pressure, chest ailments, fever, increasing immune function, increasing blood flow in the limbs, increasing urine flow and quenching thirst. Before using, please visit WebMD to review the possible side-effects.
- Foraging benefits. Benefits of foraging for wild edibles in nature are vast. Sadly, foraging is becoming a lost art, but it’s one that we should bring back because it teaches us how to nourish, heal and care for ourselves. It enriches our cultural traditions, and deepens our connection and relationship with nature and the rhythms of the seasons. It fosters environmental and social awareness, increases sustainability, and makes us less dependent on conventional food. So, for all these reasons and more, foraging for wild foods is good for us and for nature!
How to Make Wild Rose Hip Tea
Instructions
Pick at least 1-2 cups of fresh wild rose hips.
Wash and dry the rose hips. No need to de-seed them, but be sure to clip off leaves and stems.
USING FRESH ROSE HIPS:
To brew tea using fresh rose hips, use 1/4 cup fresh rose hips to 1 cup of water. Pour boiling water over the rose hips. Let the tea steep for 15-30 minutes. [Tip - the tea steeps faster if you mash up the rose hips after they've soaked in hot water and gotten soft, instead of leaving them whole.] Then, strain out the pulp. Add honey for sweetener, if desired.
USING DRIED ROSE HIPS:
Trim off the tops and bottoms of the clean rose hips. Spread them on a baking sheet and put them in the sunshine to dry. Or if you want to speed things up, bake them for 5-7 hours at 175-200 degrees. Don't worry about scooping out the little seeds, they can stay in! Once the rose hips are fully hard and dry, use a food processor to pulse them until they are crushed. Crush them to the size of tea leaves. Then store them in a glass jar in a cool dry place.
To brew tea using dried rose hips, use 1 tablespoon of dried rose hips to 1 cup of water. Let the tea steep for 15-30 minutes, covered, and then strain out the pulp. [Tip - the tea tastes stronger and steeps faster using dried rose hips instead of fresh.]
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