Rosehips – A Wild Source for Vitamin C

A previous version of this article first appeared on the Light Cellar blog in 2016.

People have had a long relationship with roses throughout history. What garden would be complete without an archetypal rose offering its soft beauty and fragrant aroma? A favourite among writers and poets from Shakespeare to Rumi, the rose is a source of inspiration as well as a symbol of love. The importance of the wild rose in Alberta is evidenced by its designation as the emblem of the province. While all parts of the wild rose can be used for different edible and medicinal purposes, the autumn is the best time to harvest and use rosehips.

There are 3 species of wild rose in the province. The most common species is the  Prickly Wild Rose or Rosa acicularis. Roses can be easily identified by their characteristic, fragrant pink flowers in the spring and by their orange-red rosehips in the autumn that remain on the branches into winter. The thorny stems combined with pinnate leaves are other distinctive features that can be used for identification. Pinnate leaves are leaves divided into leaflets occurring in pairs along the leaf stem.

Research in the 1930’s into the nutritional content of wild rosehips in Britain made rosehips an important wartime source of vitamin C. Rosehips contain up to 40 times the amount of vitamin C found in oranges. Put another way, 14g of rosehips contains 100 percent of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential dietary antioxidant that is necessary for the functioning of many body processes including wound-healing and immune function.

Vitamin C is one of the most easily destroyed vitamins and is sensitive to oxygen as well as temperatures higher than 70°C.  For this reason try to minimise processing of whole foods containing vitamin C for best results. An ideal recipe to create a tasty winter vitamin tonic is a heat-free syrup. Rosehip syrup is safe for children and adults of all ages.

How to make a heat-free rosehip syrup:

1. Finely chop up fresh rosehips.
2. In a clean jar put a 1cm layer of rosehips. Put a 1cm layer of sugar (brown or white) on top of the rosehips. Repeat until the jar is full.
3. Cover the jar and leave in a sunny windowsill until the sugar is dissolved.  This process can take up to 1-2 weeks.
4. Strain the rosehips and dissolved sugar through a fine mesh cloth or metal strainer.
5. Store syrup in a clean bottle or jar in the fridge. The sugar acts as an excellent preservative.

Dose:

Take 1-2 teaspoons daily as a vitamin supplement to help prevent winter colds and flus.

Tips:

• Pick rosehips after the first frost for the most ripe and sweet rosehips.
• Feel free to nibble on fresh picked rosehips, but avoid the seeds as they are covered in irritant hairs. The hairs are safely removed when rosehip syrup is strained through a fine mesh cloth or strainer.

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