Rosehip Tea

Rosehips, for those unfamiliar, are the little fruits that appear on the rosebush after the flowering is done. They start off yellow, then darken to orange and finally red, at which point they are ready for you! Those in the picture came off of the wild rose bushes behind my house.

Rosehips are, among other things, very high in vitamin C. It being flu season - and a bad one at that, with the swine flu coming my way - vitamin C is a great thing to have! Rosehips can be eaten fresh or dried. I tried both and didn't find a particularly strong taste either way.

I took my hips and set them in a cupboard to start drying. After a day or two I sliced them open and removed the seeds. The necessity of this step is debatable, but I got rid of them and dumped them in my garden. Maybe I'll get a rosebush next year! Anyway, after de-seeding them I left them alone to continue drying.

Once the hips are dried they can be stored or used whenever you like. I put them in a pot with 2 cups of water and simmered it for about half an hour. This produced a mild-tasting tea which I livened up with a bit of honey. Next time I'd like to do a blend with some other herbs. Maybe a bit of ginger or peppermint.

UPDATE 3/24/10: I'm really enjoying throwing a few dried rosehips in with a pinch of dried mint leaves and a few slivers of cinnamon. Fantastic tisane!