To prep dried rose hips for tea, remove the stems and buds. Like wild birds, they don't seem bothered by the hairs. Note: Our chickens LOVED the rose hip seeds we cleaned from our rugosas. This time, I mashed the cleaned hips with a potato masher as they were cooking with water, and used them to make rose hip jelly. Next time we're gathering pulp, I think we'll clip off the stems and buds, cook down the rose hips in a stainless steel pot with some water, and strain. I ate one of the halves we cleaned, and still ended up with a bit of mouth irritation. This takes a LOT of time, and it's difficult to remove all the hairs. Some hips get dark red, some stay more orange – it depends on the plant. I've noticed that some of the hips ripen earlier and start to soften, so I pick them as needed to keep them from spoiling. Frost brings out the sweetness in the hips, but you want to avoid hard frost, which cause the hips to spoil. The best time for harvesting rose hips is in fall, after a light frost. All rose hips are edible, but avoid using any hips that have been treated with pesticides. Wild roses and heirloom roses often have sizable rose hips, too. They have more flesh than most hips, making them easier to use for puree or other culinary uses. The flavor of our rugosa hips is mildly citrusy, with a hint of melon and floral notes. (He discusses wild roses in his book, Incredible Wild Edibles.) He says, “They are incredibly delicious, with a tang a bit like a dried tomato crossed with a raspberry, but with it's own floral element”. Samuel Thayer recommends the dog rose, rosa canina, as his favorite source of hips. (Our roses are rugosa types.) They form a large ornamental shrub suitable for hedgerows and naturalized plantings. Rugosa roses are known for their large hips. What are the best varieties of roses for hips?

Long dark rose hip tea