When the leaves fall in autumn and most berries are long harvested, the red rose hips still glow on the wild roses. These inconspicuous fruits are an underrated treasure: they contain more vitamin C than almost any other native fruit and deliver supply just when the garden season draws to a close. No wonder rose hip puree and rose hip tea have been considered a tonic for winter for generations.
But the rose hip has its quirks. It wants to be harvested after the frost, and its interior holds a small snag that every child knows as itching powder. This article shows you when and how to harvest rose hips and how to process them safely and deliciously.
Vitamin C after the first frost
Rose hips can in theory be picked as early as autumn, when they are coloured red. But then they are hard, tart and hard to process. The trick that experienced gatherers know is patience: wait for the first frost. The cold makes the cell walls break open, makes the flesh soft and mild and breaks down part of the bitter substances. Rose hips harvested after the frost are clearly more pleasant in taste and easier to process.
Whoever does not want to or cannot wait for the frost can also put early-harvested rose hips in the freezer overnight. The effect is the same: the cold makes the fruits soft. That way you can harvest independently of the weather and still have easily processable fruit. The exceptionally high vitamin C content makes the effort worthwhile in any case, for hardly a native fruit delivers so much of it.
The thing with the itching powder
The interior of the rose hip is quite something, in the literal sense. Beside the hard seeds sit fine, barbed hairs that strongly irritate skin and mucous membranes. Generations of children have shaken exactly these hairs as itching powder down the neighbour's collar. When processing, these hairs and seeds must therefore absolutely be removed.
Wash and halve
Wash the harvested rose hips and cut them open lengthwise. Now you see the seeds and the fine hairs inside.
Scrape out seeds and hairs
Scrape out the seeds together with the itchy hairs with a small spoon. That is a little laborious but important. Wear gloves if your skin is sensitive.
Or choose the convenient way
Alternatively, boil the whole fruits soft and press them through a fine sieve or a food mill. That way seeds and hairs stay behind and you get pure puree.
Process into puree, jelly or tea
From the cleaned flesh you make rose hip puree, jelly, jam or liqueur. For tea the skins can also be dried.
The most convenient way for larger amounts is straining: pressing the whole, soft-boiled fruits through a fine sieve reliably holds back seeds and hairs. That way you save yourself the laborious scraping and still get clean, hair-free puree.
Robust wild roses for the natural garden
Rose hips grow on wild roses, and those are a blessing for any near-natural garden. The dog rose (Rosa canina), the rugosa rose and other wild roses are extremely robust, undemanding and adaptable. They grow on almost any soil, tolerate sun and wind and are barely affected by diseases, unlike many sensitive hybrid roses.
That is why the wild rose fits ideally into a mixed edible hedge, where it closes the harvest year with its late, vitamin-rich fruits. Together with the sea buckthorn it delivers the vitamin C harvest for the cold season.
Harvest after the first frost, remove seeds and itchy hairs, then process. That way the glowing wild-rose fruit becomes a vitamin bomb for winter.
The core rule for the rose hip
Frequently asked questions
When do you harvest rose hips?
Best after the first frost, mostly weeks 40 to 46. The frost makes the hard fruits soft and mild and breaks down bitter substances. Whoever harvests earlier can put the fruits in the freezer overnight, which has the same effect.
Why do rose hips itch inside?
Inside, beside the seeds, sit fine, barbed hairs that irritate skin and mucous membranes. That is the classic itching powder. When processing, these hairs and seeds must absolutely be removed, most easily by straining the soft-boiled fruits.
What can you make from rose hips?
Rose hip puree, jelly, jam, tea and liqueur. The flesh is exceptionally rich in vitamin C. For puree and jelly you boil the fruits soft and strain them, for tea the skins can be dried.
Can you eat rose hips raw?
The flesh is edible raw and vitamin-rich, but the seeds and above all the itchy hairs inside make raw enjoyment unpleasant. Therefore rose hips are almost always processed boiled and strained.
Which wild rose gives the best rose hips?
The dog rose (Rosa canina) is the classic rose-hip wild rose with many, well-usable fruits. The rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa) too bears large, fleshy hips. Both are robust, undemanding and a good bee forage.
