How to Make Rose Hip Medicine ~ Home Apothecary Series

"Rose hips contain more vitamin C than almost any other herb, many times the amount found in citrus fruit when measured gram by gram. Vitamin C is a noted antioxidant with disease-fighting abilities."

~ Rosemary Gladstar, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health

When I think of the cold and flu seasons in autumn and winter, I immediately think of rose hips. These wild fruits of the rose are high in vitamin C, tasty, child-friendly and therefore very versatile for using in home remedies! This old fashioned herb is fun to use in your household and quite helpful too! You may also want to try utilizing these rose hips recipes during allergy season to help relieve those frustrating symptoms!

"Rose hips develop on wild roses as the flowers drop off. The rose hip, also called the rose haw, is actually the fruit of the rose. These fruits are one of the most concentrated sources of vitamin C available... "

~ Mountain Rose Herbs

Before we begin with the recipes, here is some basic information on foraging, harvesting and preserving your own rose hips. You may also be interested in learning about the potential "itching powder" contained in rose hips for a bit of a study on herb "safety".

How to Make a Rose Hip Tincture ~ 3 Ways

One very easy way to preserve the medicinal benefits of rose hips (with a long shelf life) is to prepare a tincture. This is the first thing I think of to use when we need a quick vitamin C boost (when those sick symptoms present themselves). This tincture can be added to hot teas and/or raw honey or simply dropped under the tongue for instant gratification. To learn how to make a tincture and the proper dosage, visit here.

Variation:

Make an immune boosting, cold/flu fighting, and allergy alleviating tincture blend. Using the how to make a tincture instructions, prepare this herbal medicine by using equal parts of elderberry and rose hips for excellent results.



DIY Vitamin-C Rich Tea Blends Featuring Rose Hips

To prepare a pantry full of vitamin-C rich tea blends featuring rose hips, visit our article here.



How to Make a Vitamin C-Rich Rose Hip Syrup

Syrups are a wonderful way to help the medicine go down! You will find this simple recipe here that children will love.



How to Make an Herbal Liquid Multi-Vitamin

Immune boosting rose hips make an excellent addition to your daily vitamin intake. To learn how to make your own liquid herbal vitamin, visit our tutorial here.

All-Natural Allergy Tonic

Visit here for our instructions to make this all-natural and effective allergy tonic. 

DIY Cold and Flu Elixir and/or Oxymel

One of our favorite recipes for the cold/flu season is this elixir/oxymel and rose hips is one of the main ingredients. Visit here for the complete tutorial.

DIY Immune Building Herbal Honey

For a fun herbal food to add to your pantry, infuse your honey and use like you would any "normal" honey. To prepare this vitamin-c rich recipe, simply use rose hips in place of the herb found in this recipe (or better yet, mix the two for stronger herbal properties).

Rose Hip Link Up

Do you have any recipes or information on rose hip usage? We would love for you to share with us! Please join our all about rose hips link up! It will be open until the end of March, 2016 in order to give you the opportunity to share all you have on this magnificent fruit!

Printable Information Sheets for Your Herbal {Printable Herbal Here}:

Rose Hip (Rosa canina) Fact Sheet from the USDA

Further Reading and Recipes:

Elderberry and Rose Hip Syrup by Grow Pray Build
Rose Hip Jam by Mother Earth Living

Strawberry Rose Hip Jam by Delicious Obsessions
Rose Hip Infused Kombucha by Mountain Rose Herbs

This post is a part of our Create Your Own Home Pharmacy Series.

Don't know where to find rose hips, etc? I purchase my supplies here (these are affiliate links):

                      

Disclaimer: I am not a certified herbalist but a homemaker interested in the arts of natural healing. The information I have learned has been gleaned through study of some of the following favorite books; Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide, Grow Your Own Drugs by James Wong, and The Complete Illustrated Book of Herbs by Reader's Digest and websites of herbalists (such as the Bulk Herb Store Blog).

I am not a doctor. While I do seek scientific confirmation of the safety and effectiveness of the herbs and remedies I use, remember that using remedies is a personal decision. Nothing I say on this blog is approved by the FDA or intended to diagnose, treat or prevent disease. All things on this blog are my opinion or the opinion of others. Also, if you have a medical condition, are taking pharmaceutical drugs, or are pregnant, please consult your physician prior to taking herbs.

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