One of the things I love in Fall is collecting wild rose hips. If you are early enough you can find them fresh versus dehydrated by the elements. Both are good in their own ways, I just love the intense taste that fresh gives. Spring and Summer bring the heady scent of wild roses, especially near the salt water, but Fall brings the orange to red rosehips, sprinkled over the bushes like berries. The stand out as the leaves fall in the PNW.
Nootka Rose in bloom in season. Although you can find blooms till often late October if the weather is good.
Fresh rosehips on Nootka Rose can be quite big. They are fragile, so pick gently off, and pluck the bottom off. The insides are seeds, you will need to scrape them out gently. A tiny spoon is needed, a grapefruit spoon works if not serrated, to pick out the seeds or white pith.
The seeds and pith in rosehips can cause stomach upset, so do remove them.
Once cleaned out, throw a handful into a tea cup, bring water to a boil. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes, then strain out. You can reuse them to make more tea a second time.
Sweeten to taste, while rosehip tea is quite good, it can be very tart to many. Raw honey is the choice.
Rosehips are a great source of Vitamin C. Even in Winter you can find ways to source C in the cold PNW.
To dehydrate them, see here.
~Sarah