11 September 2019 in Beauty, Nutrition, Nutrition tips

Wild Rose for Your Health and Beauty!

We admire wild rose flowers for their beautiful scent and look. The shrub usually blooms in June and the ripe orange-red fruit is collected from autumn to winter. We often use it in our kitchen for its valuable taste and flavour, and forget about its health benefits. Today I would like to remind you what properties these petals and fruit have.

Wild rose flowers with white petals and yellow stamens on a shrub, with two dark red hips behind them

Nutritional value

Rosehips are a great source of many vitamins and minerals. They are especially rich in vitamin C. Its content is 10 times higher than in blackcurrant. Three fruits are enough to supply you with the amount your body needs a day. However, it is important to note that the amount of vitamin C in rosehips depends on the time of harvest, drying method, as well as storage time. Long-term storage causes big losses of vitamin C. Rosehips also contain vitamins B1, B2, PP, E, K and carotenoids. They are rich in polyphenols. Rose oil is obtained from rose seeds and it is a good source of unsaturated fatty acids, in particular linoleic and α-linolenic acid. In turn, the minerals found in seeds and in rose oil include, among others, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

Properties

Rosehips have antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral properties. For this reason, rosehips and their preparations are often used for recovery, to fight general weakness, fatigue or stress. Strengthening preparations based on the extracts of these fruits are recommended for infectious diseases and illnesses associated with vitamin C deficiency. Rose fruit extracts also have a slight cholagogue and diuretic effect. When it comes to rose oil, it stimulates our appetite.

Possible uses in cooking

Rose hips have a high nutritional and health value. I also recommend them because of their excellent flavor. Both fruit and rose petals are edible. I mainly use them to make juice, nectars, syrups, preserves and jams. I drink rosehip tea just as often as I use rose jam, as it contains a lot of polyphenolic compounds and therefore has high antioxidant activity. I also make meat sauces from the fruit and add rose petals to salads and cakes. I use them to flavor syrups, vinegar, drinks and sweets. In candy form, they are great for decorating cakes. Rose buds can also be marinated. And, last but not least, you can also make wine from rosehips.

When to pick them and how to prepare them

The post above says the vitamin C content depends on the time of harvest, the drying method and the storage time, and each of those is a decision you make yourself. Pick the hips after the first light frost: the cold turns part of the starch into sugar and they taste noticeably sweeter for it. Avoid a hard frost, which spoils them.

Then deal with the seeds, because that is the step people skip. Every hip is packed with seeds wrapped in fine hairs, and those hairs irritate the skin and the throat, which is why they have no place in a jam. Halve the fruit and scoop the inside out with the tip of a teaspoon, or dry the halves first and then shake and sieve them, which is quicker for a large batch. Wear gloves if you are working through a bucketful.

Dry them at a moderate temperature rather than a hot one, and store them in a closed jar away from light. Both of those exist for the same reason: heat and time are what the vitamin C is lost to, so a batch dried gently and used within the year keeps more of it than one dried fast and kept for two.

What you make of them afterwards is the easy part, and if you would rather have the preserves and the meals around them planned rather than improvised, the Diet & Training by Ann app builds the week with a shopping list.

Wild rose in cosmetics

Wild rose is widely used in cosmetology. Rose oil made from petals and seeds is used for aromatherapy and perfumery. It has anti-inflammatory properties, protects, brightens, naturally tones and nourishes tired skin. For this reason, I recommend it especially to people with sensitive and capillary skin as well as those who are exposed to intense sunlight. An important property of rose oil is that it inhibits the aging process and regenerates flaky skin. Rose oil can also be used as a hair care cosmetic.

I hope that having read today’s post you will try some home-made rosehip preserves. Remember that wild rose is worth checking out not only for its health benefits, but it also helps you take care of your looks.

Frequently asked questions

When should rosehips be picked?

After the first light frost. The cold turns part of the starch into sugar, so the fruit tastes noticeably sweeter, while a hard frost spoils it. The shrub flowers in June and the ripe orange-red fruit is collected from autumn into winter.

Why do you have to remove the seeds from rosehips?

Because every hip is packed with seeds wrapped in fine hairs, and those hairs irritate the skin and the throat. Halve the fruit and scoop the inside out with the tip of a teaspoon, or dry the halves first and then shake and sieve them, which is quicker for a large batch.

How should rosehips be dried and stored?

At a moderate temperature rather than a hot one, then in a closed jar away from light. Heat and time are what the vitamin C is lost to, and long storage causes big losses of it.

What can you make from rosehips?

Juice, nectars, syrups, preserves and jams, and rosehip tea. Anna also makes meat sauces from the fruit, adds the petals to salads and cakes, uses them to flavour syrups, vinegar and drinks, marinates the buds and even makes wine from the hips. Both the fruit and the petals are edible.

Is rose oil used on the skin?

Yes, it comes from the petals and the seeds and is used in cosmetics, aromatherapy and perfumery. Anna recommends it in particular for sensitive skin, skin prone to broken capillaries, and skin exposed to intense sunlight. It works on hair as well. If you would rather have the preserves and the meals around them planned than improvised, the Diet & Training by Ann app builds the week with a shopping list.

Bibliography

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Phetcharat L., et al. The effectiveness of a standardized rose hip powder, containing seeds and shells of Rosa canina, on cell longevity, skin wrinkles, moisture, and elasticity. Clin Interv Aging. 2015;10:1849-56.
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