| For What It's Worth | |
Rose Hips
by Lori Harger Witt, from the October 2001 newsletter
Nutrition news, wine reviews, volunteer interviews, scrumptious scone recipes—what
more could this Web site possibly offer? Well, folks, things are just going
to get better with the addition of this new monthly column on herbs.
My focus in this column will be on easy-to-find herbs. This may mean the plantain growing in the cracks of your front walk, the balsam root on Moscow Mountain, or the cinnamon in your spice cabinet. I will stick to the practical uses of these common herbs, meaning things that the average person can do in the simplicity of his or her own kitchen or back yard.
On what authority do I have anything useful, truthful, or remotely interesting to tell you about herbs? Well, I've been gathering empirical information about herbs since I ate my first Oregon grape at the age of nine. I have also spent a lot of time searching out beautiful and obscure references to the healing power of herbs in Greek mythology, indigenous folk tales, and the works of Shakespeare.
After training with several gifted herbalists, I began offering clinical consultations and making herbal preparations for my clients and for midwives and massage therapists. In 1999 I attended Michael Moore's Southwest School of Botanical Medicine. I am now working towards becoming a registered nurse and eventually a nurse practitioner.
However, nothing in this or future articles should be mistaken for the sound medical advice of your primary health care provider.
That said, let's move on to the good stuff. This month I will talk about some tasty and nutritious things you can do with wild rose hips.
Anyone who has walked in the woods or even across a campground parking lot is likely to be familiar with this thorny wild rose shrub and its delicate five-petaled pink flower. In late summer the flowers mature into hips. They are best picked soon after the first frost although they can be harvested throughout the winter. They can also be purchased year-round in the bulk herb section of the Co-op.
As the seasons change and our local produce supply diminishes, the appearance of these bright red hips is another reminder from Nature that we don't have to rely on transcontinental fruit shipments to get our nutrients.
Rose hips fall into the nutritive class of herbs. We use them for their vitamin and mineral content rather than for their medicinal properties. In addition to being high in vitamin C and bioflavonids, rose hips are high in vitamin A, selenium, riboflavin, niacin, and chromium, and have moderate levels of calcium and thiamin.
Honey is a very effective and delicious medium for preserving fresh herbs. To make rose hip honey, chop the hips fine and place them in a jar. Pour enough honey over to thoroughly cover and secure a cloth over the jar. This will prevent molding by allowing water to evaporate.
Let it sit for a week or so, then pour it through a mesh strainer. Warm it slightly first to allow the honey to drain better. If you end up with a greater volume of honey than you started with, you will need to cook the honey gently over a double boiler to evaporate the excess water. Your result will be a beautiful reddish-orange, slightly tart honey that you can use just as you would regular honey. Remember, honey extractions only work with fresh, not dried, herbs.
Dried rose hips can be crushed lightly for brewing tea. Use a good round tablespoon per cup of boiling water and let it steep for 15 minutes or longer. This will give you about 100 milligrams of Vitamin C in one cup of tea. The recommended daily allowance is 60 milligrams. I like to combine rose hips with other nutritive tea herbs like nettles, oats, alfalfa, and dandelion. These herbs are high in minerals and chlorophyll. When you brew them into tea the result is a solution rich in highly absorbable nutrients.
This is a good supplement to anyone's diet and a more nutritious beverage than most of the fruit juices kids are usually given. Make up a pitcher at a time and keep it in the fridge for the whole family to enjoy.
If I've gotten you enthused enough to go out seeking rose hips in the wild,
please do so with care. Treat the plants like the precious natural resources
they are. Never pick more than one sixth of what you see growing, and never
pick more than what you are likely to use. Harvest far away from paths, campgrounds,
or anywhere else that other people are likely to want to harvest. Show respect
and thanks to the plants for sharing their bounty with you.
When Lori Harger Witt is not busy with her family or studies she can usually be found digging roots and gathering berries.
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