Beautiful rose hips... to eat

Rose hips are the seedpods of roses. If you leave the flowers on the bush after the end of its season, you will see beautiful ornamental pods – which are actually an edible fruit (if the plant has not been treated with a pesticide not labeled for use on edibles), very high in vitamin C, antioxidants and beta carotene. Although rose hips can be eaten raw like their botanical cousin the crab apple, it’s better to enjoy them in a more easily consumable form by boiling them into a tea, wine, syrup or making jam or jelly. The best time to harvest rose hips is after the first frost, which helps sweeten their tart flavour. Go for the firm and colourful ones, and leave the dry or shriveled ones for our bird friends. Waiting until after a frost is also good for the plant, since cutting the hips before frost could encourage the rose to send out new growth which would be killed back at the first frost. Consult with a doctor before eating rose hips, especially if you are pregnant. 

Here are some recipes that feature rose hips as an ingredient: 

Two Loves Studio ruby red rose hip tea
Life's a Feast honeysuckle rose macaroons
Green Kitchen Stories rose hip Christmas truffles
Gourmet Dough rose hip custard tart
Wholehearted Eats superfood sprinkles 
Brewery Lane rose hip wine
Sauce Magazine rose hip applesauce 

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