In our garden, we have many rose bushes, all of which are organic and have never been sprayed since I wanted to gather the rosehips for my chinchilla. The only problem? I don't know what to do to prepare them! Sure, I've read up that I need to cut them off when they get red, but for chinchillas, do I need to take out the seed and little bits inside as well, leave them in, or completely chop the entire thing up? And do I do this right after I cut them, when they're slightly dry, or fully dry? And how do I tell the difference in dry-ness? Tips on storage would be great, too! Any help is appreciated! Thank you!
Rosehips Preparation?
- Thread starter Sendra
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Chin_Pig
Well-known member
i have asked about this before too. i never really got it figured out. i guess you could follow the way to prepare them for human consumption since we buy them at the store that way. im not sure the process though.
alli713
..has a fleece addiction
I've read that you wait until after the first frost to cut the hips off of the bush. Then you would just spread them out on something to dry, either a baking sheet or drying rack. You would dry them completely out. So I would think after they turn hard they'd be dried out. But I would just leave them in an open container for a while to make sure they're completely dried out.
You can give them whole if you like. Otherwise you can cut them up. Some chins prefer whole, and some prefer crushed.
You can give them whole if you like. Otherwise you can cut them up. Some chins prefer whole, and some prefer crushed.
http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/how-to-dry-store-rose-hips-rosa-canina
I think rose hips should become red and ripe from mid-September to October. Orange rose hips mean they are not ripe, very deep red means they are overripe. What you need is bright red color. Overripe rose hips lose lots of vitamin C.
Rose hips should be stored in dry,cool place, away form direct sunlight.It's best to store rose hips in air tight containers(if they are properly dried of course).But you may want to store them in well ventilated area after drying (maybe in a cardboard box with holes) for a few weeks to give them time to stiffen. Some people use warm oven to dry them."Just a tip about drying rosehips. You can also dry them in a warm , not hot, oven. Put the whole rose hips in roasting trays about a half inch deep and heat the oven up to about 50 degrees C for about an hour. Leave the oven door ajar (you can hold it open with a tea spoon or folded tea towel) and leave the rose hips in there as the oven cools down. This ensures that the rose hips dry out: be careful they don’t cook. Do this every day for about a week, making sure to shake the rosehips every so often."
It is best NOT to use aluminum pans or utensils because they destroy vitamin C and can discolor the hips. I've heard that stainless steel is fine.
Food dehydrator can also be used or just dry in the shade. Some recommend to dry in the sun, while others say it may destroy vitamin C ( I'm not sure about this one).
I would not use metal containers for storage as vitamin C is destroyed by some metals(and oxygen, heat and light) and some metal containers can give rose hips an off flavor.
Ideally rose hips should be used within 1 year.Stability of vitamin C in dried rose hips was evaluated using photometry and thin layer chromatography (TLC). Results showed that rose hips cut in half loose about 50% of vitamin C in 18 month, powdered rose hips loose 100% of vitamin C in 6 month.
Hole or crushed is up to you. I prefer to offer crushed rose hips to my chins as whole have hairs that irritate chins mouth and one of my chins will not take a whole one, she throws it at me, but loves crushed. Also seeds can get stuck between chins teeth.
Good luck!
I think rose hips should become red and ripe from mid-September to October. Orange rose hips mean they are not ripe, very deep red means they are overripe. What you need is bright red color. Overripe rose hips lose lots of vitamin C.
Rose hips should be stored in dry,cool place, away form direct sunlight.It's best to store rose hips in air tight containers(if they are properly dried of course).But you may want to store them in well ventilated area after drying (maybe in a cardboard box with holes) for a few weeks to give them time to stiffen. Some people use warm oven to dry them."Just a tip about drying rosehips. You can also dry them in a warm , not hot, oven. Put the whole rose hips in roasting trays about a half inch deep and heat the oven up to about 50 degrees C for about an hour. Leave the oven door ajar (you can hold it open with a tea spoon or folded tea towel) and leave the rose hips in there as the oven cools down. This ensures that the rose hips dry out: be careful they don’t cook. Do this every day for about a week, making sure to shake the rosehips every so often."
It is best NOT to use aluminum pans or utensils because they destroy vitamin C and can discolor the hips. I've heard that stainless steel is fine.
Food dehydrator can also be used or just dry in the shade. Some recommend to dry in the sun, while others say it may destroy vitamin C ( I'm not sure about this one).
I would not use metal containers for storage as vitamin C is destroyed by some metals(and oxygen, heat and light) and some metal containers can give rose hips an off flavor.
Ideally rose hips should be used within 1 year.Stability of vitamin C in dried rose hips was evaluated using photometry and thin layer chromatography (TLC). Results showed that rose hips cut in half loose about 50% of vitamin C in 18 month, powdered rose hips loose 100% of vitamin C in 6 month.
Hole or crushed is up to you. I prefer to offer crushed rose hips to my chins as whole have hairs that irritate chins mouth and one of my chins will not take a whole one, she throws it at me, but loves crushed. Also seeds can get stuck between chins teeth.
Good luck!
Chin_Pig
Well-known member
i have pulled some apart before and those hairs are really itchy it felt like i touched fiberglass.
Last edited:
M
mochi
Guest
crack open the dried rosehips with a small hammer ( or a can of food), use a small hole colander to sieve out all the seeds and nasty spikes inside
I came out with this by trail and error... i used to tap each and every rose hips to get the stuff out. I found out using a colander is a much faster and easier way.
I came out with this by trail and error... i used to tap each and every rose hips to get the stuff out. I found out using a colander is a much faster and easier way.
LovingChins&Hedgies
Well-known member
My mom has rose bushes, I'm going try this. She had actually cut some off already, because she wanted them off so new flowers could grow, but I'll have to check the color and make sure they were ripe.
