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Why have I never picked Rosehips before?

(42 Posts)
Camilla7 Fri 13-Oct-23 00:31:02

Last week I picked rosehips for the first time ever and set about making Rosehip & Apple Jelly. Oh boy have I been missing out all these years and always thought rosehips were scary things as the hairs on the seeds are what itching powder are made of. I needed have worried! Currently finding every excuse to eat this jelly. Last had it with sausage, onion gravy and mash, but equally lush on toast or with cheese:-)

Mirren Sun 15-Oct-23 13:57:22

I've never picked rosehips but Mum gave us the syrup every winter. I loved it .

EllieRose Sun 15-Oct-23 14:26:06

My late husband and I used to pick rosehips in the 70s to make wine. Lovely it was too. We did the same with sloes and elderberries, all of which were plentiful where we lived at the time. Happy days.

Fleurpepper Sun 15-Oct-23 15:40:05

They are huge and so plentyful this year. Foraging has to be done with respect for wildlife. I pick what I can easily reach and leave the birds all the rest. Will pick after a couple of sharp frosts.

Blinko Sun 15-Oct-23 15:41:36

So is there an easy way of separating the horrible, hairy seeds from the good stuff? It all sounds rather a faff to me...

Blinko Sun 15-Oct-23 15:44:31

Just read the link given by Camilla7. Good grief! It is a faff.

kittylester Sun 15-Oct-23 15:57:31

Lesley60

It sounds like slave labour to me, the farmer was onto a good thing choosing school kids and paying them peanuts

It wasn't slave labour. Whole families went to pick potatoes. It must have been backbreaking work but the farmers were not wealthy. The community pulled together to survive.

We weren't from the village and my mum thought herself much better than the people whose families had lived there for generation. I may have mentioned before that Hyacinth Bucket was based on my mum!! grin

Qwerty Sun 15-Oct-23 15:57:35

Sweetcakes I agree! Especially mushrooms which can be very dangerous, even fatal.
Try blackberries, even I can't go wrong. The season has ended now though. But we pick them then wash and open freeze them before freezing in tubs for Blackberry and Apple Crumble throughout the year.

Mojack26 Sun 15-Oct-23 16:46:01

Loved Delrosa Rosehip Syrup

Granjeanne Sun 15-Oct-23 17:40:13

Rosehips only develop when the roses are not deadheaded. I always deadhead mine as soon as the flowers begin to droop or drop their petals. My late mum taught me not just to cut off the heads, but also to cut down the stem to just above the next cluster of FIVE leaves (not 3). Not sure why this encourages new flowers, but it works! My roses are still flowering quite well, if slowing down. I'm on the Surrey / Hants border, but most of the roses are in my front (Northeast facing) garden.

Gundy Sun 15-Oct-23 17:50:41

There are very many health benefits to drinking rose hips tea!

Greyduster Sun 15-Oct-23 17:55:39

I read this thread earlier this afternoon before I took myself out for a walk. Rose hips have never been on my radar before, though I’m an enthusiastic forager. Today, they seemed to leap out from every hedgerow! Maybe next year I will add them to the foraging list, with the elderberries for cordial, and sloes for gin (though sloes are conspicuous by their absence this year!)m and of course blackberries.

Fleurpepper Sun 15-Oct-23 17:59:35

Blinko

So is there an easy way of separating the horrible, hairy seeds from the good stuff? It all sounds rather a faff to me...

No need for jelly and cordial.

25Avalon Sun 15-Oct-23 21:38:43

When I make rose hip syrup I cut off the calyx (top) and the stalk (all 400 of them - I count or I’d get bored 😂) then I cover with water, boil, strain, sieve, three times. The remaining liquid is boiled with sugar to make syrup. The sieved out seeds are thrown away.

BTW rose hips are very good for horses who tend to really like them.

Bijou Sun 15-Oct-23 23:31:46

In 1950 my son was given free rose hip syrup instead of orange juice at the clinic. Was also given Virol.
I cannot understand why these days people don’t bother to gather and use wild foods.

Blinko Mon 16-Oct-23 11:17:37

Fleurpepper

Blinko

So is there an easy way of separating the horrible, hairy seeds from the good stuff? It all sounds rather a faff to me...

No need for jelly and cordial.

Ah! I'm guessing that's because they're sieved at some stage?

Camilla7 Mon 16-Oct-23 16:03:23

Blinko

Just read the link given by Camilla7. Good grief! It is a faff.

You can use a blender to lightly chop the rosehips if you prefer.