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5:12 pm
2nd Grader
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Sun 17-Jul-11
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Hello, how will I know when rosehips are ripe and ready to make syrups etc?
6:56 pm
Councillor
Wed 30-Dec-09
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Hi Mrs Pickle, and welcome to the forum.
I think rosehips have quite a long ripeness/picking window - I picked some last year and remember still seeing plenty on the bushes when there was snow on the ground. I can't remember when I picked them but I think september/october sounds about right. Someone else should come along soon with a bit more of an answer.
Visit my blog for food, drink, photography and hamsters.
7:15 pm
Councillor
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Wed 12-May-10
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Hi Mrs pickle and Welcome
i think Bobquale is rite i seem to remember them as an autumn thing and pickable well into the winter ,i think the longer they ripen the better they are
but one of our forridgers will give us a definate soon
hope to see you around TTFN MOS 
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
10:28 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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September is about the right time, they need to give slightly when squashed, but not be wrinkly. October would probably be still ok.
They need to be ripe and red, maybe possible in august.
12:55 pm
2nd Grader
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Sun 17-Jul-11
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Thanks for that, I will keep an eye out for them in the Autumn. It will be my first attempt at using rosehips so wish me luck!!
1:34 pm
Supreme Being
New members
Mon 21-Sep-09
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Welcome Mrs Pickle, glad to have your company on the forum.
I too am going to try rosehips this autumn....it is one of the cordials/syrups I have never made although I drank a lot of it in WWII, made by my wonderful grandma.
I hope you keep reporting your progress here.
Good luck.
Hattie/aka Nadine
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
2:21 pm
Councillor
Wed 30-Dec-09
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After my reply yesterday, I had a flick through my copy of Food For Free and it said to pick between august and october. I guess the start of the picking season depends on how far north you are, whether the bushes are sheltered or sunny and various other factors like that.
Visit my blog for food, drink, photography and hamsters.
4:42 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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I'm wondering if everything will be ripe earlier than usual this year?
I'll try that again!
9:06 pm
Improver
Tue 1-Sep-09
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We have a Japanese rose or rambling rose ( my mum calls it), do you guys know if the hips from one of them can be eaten they're proper big and a shame to waste. In fact we have a few different rose bushes round our garden, can we eat all of them?
The apples seem to be ripening quicker this year but that could just be me. I remember as a kid that they seemed to be sour right up to the summer holidays whereas now they're sweet and ready for eating so I'm making cider out of them. Could just be a bad memory of course because I always remember my mum's cheese and tomato spaghetti sauce being cheesier and tomatoier, but really it's no different.
Well, that didn't go quite as expected
9:22 pm
Supreme Being
Wed 30-Dec-09
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Hi again, Tim, see here - apparently Rosa rugosa is the tastiest, but it would seem that all rosehips can be eaten.
I used some growing in my garden last year, when making a sweet chutney of quince and rosehip - gorgeous.
9:34 pm
Improver
Tue 1-Sep-09
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Thank you, Brightspark that was fascinating reading I'm going to gather as many as I can. The anti-inflammatory use is of particular interest, I'll have to get to know which one is the Rosa rugosa. What's the most effective way of removing the hairs please?
Well, that didn't go quite as expected
10:12 pm
Supreme Being
Wed 30-Dec-09
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Unfortunately Tim, there are two ways of using them I've found.
If you are making syrups or jellies, then a jelly bag will remove the hairs, of course.
However, if you're making, say, as I did, a sweet chutney, then it is a very laborious task is to cut them in half and remove the hairs. Yes, it is fiddley, but if using Rosa rugosa, they are very large hips, and the task is not quite so bad!
Rosa rugosa plants are often used as hedging - we had two hedges made entirely from them, but always leave some for the birds, as the hips are a good source of food through the winter and they love them.
They are at their best after the first frost.
11:32 pm
Supreme Being
New members
Tue 22-Sep-09
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I made rose hip syrup and rose hip jelly last year, both were wonderful, rose hip syrup amkes a lovely hot drink when added to hot water and the jelly was great used as a jam (on toast, in rice pudding etc)
Not sure if I could be bothered to remove the hiars to make chutney though
5:07 am
Councillor
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Fri 10-Sep-10
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Dry the hairs, apply to female backs, they are a great itching powder ! (mis-spent childhood again ) 
Seed catalogues are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than the web and playboy combined . (after Michael Perry)
10:33 am
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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That was a very interesting article Val, thank you for that. I wonder how much it would cost to buy the powder to conduct my own anti-inflammatory experiment?
I'll try that again!
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