Content
- The Rosehip: What are its fruit properties?
- The nutlets are the true fruits
- No one's looks - instead, diversity rules
- When are the rosehips ripe and ready to be harvested?
- The taste of rosehips
- Versatile uses
- Tips & Tricks
The Rosehip: What are its fruit properties?
Every rose, whether shrub, climbing, noble, ground cover, hedge or wild rose, grows from its fertilized flowers rose hips. But what are the characteristics of rosehips, when do they mature and what can be done with them?
The nutlets are the true fruits
The rosehip represents a so-called collective fruit. The actual fruits are the small and yellowish colored nutlets, which are under the shell and in the middle of the Fruchtmarks. They are provided with numerous barb-like bristles and cause itching on contact with the skin.
No one's looks - instead, diversity rules
There is not THE rosehip. Rosehips vary greatly in shape, size and color. They can grow between 1 and 5 cm in size, be ovate to flat-spherical in shape and orange to carmine-red in color.
When are the rosehips ripe and ready to be harvested?
The flowers of the roses are replaced by the rosehips. The fewest rosehips mature in September. As a rule, they reach maturity between October and November.
They can - unless they have been eaten beforehand - be harvested throughout the fall and into the spring of the following year. During this time, they dry slowly on the shrub.
The taste of rosehips
Rosehips taste best when frost has moved over them. Then they are sweet-sour, spicy and soft in their consistency. The mushy fruit pulp and the skin are edible. The contained nuts are hard and should not be eaten in bulk. Generally, the later the rosehips are harvested, the sweeter they are.
Versatile uses
From the nutlets oil can be won. In addition, they can be used to propagate the plant. The rosehips themselves can serve as bird food and be eaten raw or further processed. From them, for example, the following treats can be created:
Tips & Tricks
Once the red skin of the rosehip is glassy and yields on finger pressure, the best time to eat these fruits is raw. From the bush to the mouth: Carefully push out the pulp at the end of the stalk so that the nutlets remain in the casing and enjoy.
KKF