Status: 24.10.2023, 13:35 PM
By: Lisa Bender
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If you want to collect and process rose hips, you should take a close look. Not all varieties are healthy. © F. Hecker/Imago
Rose hips can do much more than itch powder. They are rich in vitamin C and taste delicious as a tea or puree. However, there are a few things to consider when collecting.
NRW – In autumn, nature has some edible treasures to offer: chestnuts*, mushrooms, beechnuts* and even rose hips. However, caution is always advised when collecting and processing the wild delicacies. It is not uncommon for every edible specimen to have a poisonous or inedible counterpart. There is also a risk of confusion with rosehips, RUHR24* knows.
| Varieties with edible fruits: | Apple, potato or dog rose |
| Harvest season: | Mid-September to November |
| Process to: | Jam, jelly, juice, liqueur or tea |
| Nutrients: | Vitamins C and B, plant acids and pectides |
Collecting rose hips: Don't confuse them with the dog rose
Many wild roses put on rose hips after flowering in autumn. However, unlike mushrooms, chestnuts or other wild treats, few people bother to collect rose hips and process them into jam, juice or tea.
However, the effort can be worth it, because the small red fruits are real vitamin bombs. But only if you collect the right variety. Because only the rose hips of the apple, potato or dog rose are considered healthy and rich in vitamins. The fruits of the dog rose, on the other hand, do not have healthy properties. After all, if you do make a mistake while collecting, little can happen. Because the rose hips of the dog rose are not poisonous.
Harvesting and processing rose hips: No problem with the right tools
However, Gartenjournal.net has a simple tip on how not to get mixed up when collecting the rose hips. For example, the dog rose and the dog rose can be distinguished by the number of spines. While the wild rose with its healthy fruits has many spines, the dog rose hardly develops thorns.
What is useful for recognizing the rose hips is annoying when collecting the rose fruits. After all, it is precisely spines that make harvesting rose hips so time-consuming. However, with the right equipment and a few simple tips, it should be child's play to harvest and process the rose hips (more news about the garden at RUHR24).
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Harvesting rose hips: Why gloves and the weather play an important role
As a first step, for example, it is worth getting gloves that are impenetrable to spines. In garden centres or DIY stores, there are often special rose gloves for this. The timing of harvesting rose hips also plays an important role.
It is best to collect the rose fruits when they are deep red in color but still hard. This is usually from the end of September to mid-October. Although the sugar content increases the colder it gets, the first frost* makes the shell floury, bland and soft. The hard fruits are also much easier to process.
Manufactum also gives the tip to harvest the rose hips on dry and sunny days. On rainy days, the vitamin C content is said to be significantly lower.
How to Process Rose Hips: A Simple Trick to Avoid the Itching Powder
If you have now collected a basket full of rose hips, you should think about how you want to process the autumnal power fruits. They can either be eaten raw, dried, or canned. No matter which rosehip recipe you choose in the end, the style and seeds must be removed beforehand.
But beware: The small seeds are surrounded by fine hairs, which may still be known to some as itching powder. The seeds are therefore not suitable for consumption. To ensure that your hands don't itch all the time when processing the rose hips, the rose fruits should be halved in a bowl of water and removed from the seeds – this will avoid unpleasant itching.
Rosehip recipes from jam, puree to tea
If you dry the red fruits in the oven, you can ideally make tea from them. Simply pour hot water over it and you've got a drink with a lot of vitamin C, which can be a real treat for a nasty cold. For puree, jelly, juice or liqueur, rose hips must be boiled for at least half an hour and then strained. Mix in a little sugar and you've got a delicious rosehip jam.
By the way: Even if the seeds are not suitable for consumption, as a tea they taste of vanilla and are said to be particularly beneficial for rheumatism or urinary tract diseases. To do this, it is best to pour two to three teaspoons of the seeds with hot water, let it steep for ten minutes - and enjoy.