I just got done drinking a delicious, freshly sweet without-being-overpowering rose hips infusion. I’ve been out harvesting over the past couple of weeks and plan to hit the hillsides for way more bounty before these precious vitamin C powerhouses fall to the ground making way for the wondrous roses of spring. I’d like to thank Alicia Michelson of the Learning Council here in Paonia for teaching me about rosehips and how to use them. She has such a special talent for making things like this seem so easy and accessible. For more of her work, check out her website here.
Alica shared that one rosehip, just one, holds as much vitamin C as almost 50 oranges. Talk about a powerhouse of immune support! There is nothing about this process of harvesting rosehips that is a negative (unless you don’t like thorns.) Alicia shared that she looks at the thorn pricks as a do-it-yourself acupuncture treatment. Quite the eternal optimist, that one! If you don’t like thorns, then just wear gloves and clothes that protect you from the poking. Plus, you get to get out in the fresh air, hunting & gathering and relaxing as the sunny breezes kiss your skin.
Once you have gathered your rosehips, you can dry in your dehydrator at 105 degrees to maintain the highest vitamin C & trace mineral potential or in the air in a warm dry room. Once dry, take a few minutes to take the stems and other extraneous plant material off of the rosehips so that your infusion is made up of concentrated rosehips goodness.
When you are ready to make your infusion, start the teapot to bubbling and put one cup of dried rosehips in a quart jar, or two cups in a half-gallon. You get the ratio, right? This is definitely not brain surgery.
Pour the boiling water over the rosehips, and let it sit for at least eight hours. Don’t ever boil the rosehips; you won’t get as much out of them nutritionally. Be gentle with them and give them time to release their rich nutritional gift to you. I have found that you can use the same batch at least four times. You can tell when they are starting to fade by the taste and color of your infusion becoming weaker. This is so delicious. Can’t wait to make another one of these!
This picture is what the infusion looked like after a few minutes. If you’ve never tried this, it’s free in our little valley. Others have to pay $10-$18 a pound and don’t get the wonderful fresh air and amazing views we get around here. So, head on out with purpose, get moving in the fresh air with some friends and while you are there, grab some for your loved ones in this time when we all are looking for a little more immune system edge. You won’t regret this. (Oh, and definitely make sure you are harvesting in a place that you know hasn’t been sprayed with toxic chemicals.) Please to enjoy!
