Lisa M. Rose
wild tales from the journeys of lisa m. rose
Every wild rose that flowers in June leaves a hip behind, and by November the canes along the woodland edge are hung with them. I gather mine after the first hard frost and clean out the seeds. I put them up for rose hip syrup and elderberry syrup, and sometimes add them to a hard cider brew for a bit of extra flavor.
How do you make rose hip syrup?
Gather ripe wild rose hips (Rosa species) in late fall, after the first hard frost, and scoop the seeds and hairs out of the larger hips. Simmer the hips in water until they are soft, strain the liquid through a jelly bag or fine cloth, twice if you need to, so none of the fine hairs get through, then sweeten it and simmer it down to a syrup.
Rose hips at a glance
| Season | Hips form in late summer; gather them in late fall (autumn), after the first hard frost, when they turn from orange to dark red |
| Where it grows | Wild roses (Rosa species) on disturbed, rocky soil, woodland edges and ground near lakes and rivers across the US Midwest and Great Lakes. In Britain the native wild rose is the dog rose (Rosa canina) |
| Lookalikes | Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), a thornless climbing vine with poisonous red berries, in North America and Britain. In Britain also black bryony (Dioscorea communis), a hedgerow climber with poisonous red berries |
| Preparation | Remove the seeds and the fine hairs around them, or strain them out through fine cloth |
| In my books | Urban Foraging, Midwest Foraging and Midwest Medicinal Plants |
I’m Lisa M. Rose, author of Urban Foraging, Midwest Foraging and Midwest Medicinal Plants. Rose hips are in Urban Foraging, my guide to the wild plants that grow where people live, and in Midwest Foraging, where I write about the wild roses of the Great Lakes.
How do you identify wild rose hips?
Wild rose hips are round to oval red fruits, 1/4 inch to 1 1/2 inches (about 5 mm to 4 cm) across, on thorny canes with alternate, finely toothed compound leaves.
The wild rose is a spreading shrub that grows to about 5 feet (1.5 m). Its leaves are deep green and shiny. The buds form in mid June and open into five-petalled flowers, white to dark pink and 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 cm) across, depending on the species. After the flowers are pollinated, the hips form in late summer. They stay orange until a frost, then turn a dark, bright red.
What looks like rose hips?
Bittersweet nightshade is the red-berried plant most likely to be picked by mistake, and its berries are poisonous. It climbs through hedges and thickets as a vine with no thorns, and its shiny berries hang in loose clusters. In British hedgerows, black bryony climbs the same way and carries poisonous red berries too. Rose hips grow on woody, thorny canes with compound leaves. Check for the thorns and the compound leaf before you pick.
When and where do you gather rose hips?
Gather rose hips in late fall, after the first hard frost, when they have turned dark red and their flavour is fuller.
Wild roses like disturbed, rocky soil, the edges of woods, and ground near lakes and rivers. Gather from healthy plants, because roses often carry mildew, blight and aphids. Stay away from roads, rail lines and hedges, lawns and verges that may have been sprayed, and ask before you gather on land that is not yours. Some city, state and national parks don’t allow foraging, so check the rules. Wild rose is listed as a noxious weed in some areas, and gathering its hips will not harm future harvests.
Do you need to remove the seeds and hairs from rose hips?
Yes, either scoop them out or strain them out. The seeds inside a rose hip sit in fine, fuzzy hairs that can upset the stomach.
On the larger hips, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds and hairs before drying or cooking. If you cook small hips whole for syrup or tea, strain the liquid through a jelly bag or a fine cloth, twice if you need to, so no hairs get through.
How do you dry rose hips?
Cut the larger hips in half, scoop out the seeds and hairs, and dry the halves flat on screens until they are hard.
Store the dried hips in glass jars once they are completely dry. Dried or fresh hips go into cordials, jelly and syrups through the winter.
Next week I’m writing from Cornwall about my family’s nettle pasty, with my full guide to gathering and cooking nettles. Subscribe to my weekly foraging musings on Substack to get it.
How do you make rose hip tea?
Simmer dried, cleaned rose hips in water for 10 minutes, then strain the tea through a fine cloth or paper coffee filter.
The straining matters, because it catches any rose hip hairs. My recipe, with metric measures, is in this week’s weekly foraging musings on Substack: My rose hip tea.
What’s in rose hips?
USDA FoodData Central lists 426 mg of vitamin C in 100 g (3.5 oz) of raw wild rose hips, which are mostly fibre and carbohydrate. Drying and cooking lower the vitamin C.
| Per 100 g (3.5 oz), raw | Rose hips, wild |
|---|---|
| Energy | 162 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 38.2 g |
| Fibre | 24.1 g |
| Vitamin C | 426 mg |
Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy record 168998 (rose hips, wild, Northern Plains Indians). The figures are for raw hips; USDA has no record for dried rose hips, so none is given here. Rose hip seeds sit in hairs that can upset the stomach, so remove or strain them out.
Safety
Be certain of your identification before eating any wild plant. If in doubt, don’t forage it. Rose hips grow on thorny canes; bittersweet nightshade and black bryony carry poisonous red berries on thornless climbers. Remove or strain out the seeds and hairs inside the hips. Gather away from roads, rail lines, sprayed hedges and lawns and old industrial and mining land, and ask permission. As with introducing any new food or herb into your diet, do so with care to rule out any adverse reaction.
Questions readers ask
When should you pick rose hips?
Pick wild rose hips in late fall, after the first hard frost. They stay orange until a frost, then turn a dark, bright red, and their flavour is fuller after it.
Why do you remove the hairs from rose hips?
The seeds inside a rose hip sit in fine, fuzzy hairs that can upset the stomach. Scoop the seeds and hairs out of the larger hips before drying or cooking, or strain syrup and tea through a jelly bag or fine cloth.
What’s in rose hips?
USDA FoodData Central lists 426 mg of vitamin C in 100 g of raw wild rose hips, which are mostly fibre and carbohydrate. Drying and cooking lower the vitamin C.
Can you dry rose hips for tea?
Yes. Dry cleaned rose hip halves on screens until they are hard, store them in glass jars once they are completely dry, and simmer them in water for tea, straining it through fine cloth.
What’s a good Christmas gift under $30 for someone who loves foraging and herbal tea?
Urban Foraging by Lisa M. Rose (Timber Press) covers 50 wild plants that grow where people live, with how to find, gather and cook each one; it is a hardcover at US $20.00 and UK £16.99. For a tea drinker who wants to know how wild herbs have been used, Midwest Medicinal Plants by Lisa M. Rose covers 109 wild herbs and is a paperback at US $27.99 and UK £25.00. Both are on my Books page.
I write about the wild rose in all three of my books, Urban Foraging, Midwest Foraging and Midwest Medicinal Plants by Lisa M. Rose, published by Timber Press. They are on Amazon in the US and the UK.
Urban Foraging: amazon.com/dp/1643260839 (US), amazon.co.uk/dp/1643260839 (UK)
Midwest Foraging: amazon.com/dp/1604695315 (US), amazon.co.uk/dp/1604695315 (UK)
Midwest Medicinal Plants: amazon.com/dp/1604696559 (US), amazon.co.uk/dp/1604696559 (UK)
Recipes are part of my weekly foraging musings on Substack. Subscribe and follow to get all my tips.