How to brew rosehip to preserve its vitamins?
How to brew rosehips to preserve the vitamins?
Rosehips are harvested and dried in September-October. Now is the time to think about gathering the berries and making a healthy tea from them. Rosehips are considered a remedy against seasonal colds, as these rose fruits are leaders in vitamin C content: the ascorbic acid in the fruits is 50 times more than in lemons and ten times more than in blackcurrants.
How to make rosehip tea?
Rosehips can be brewed on their own or together with black tea and herbs. The taste of the drink is slightly tart, astringent, and has citrus notes. Therefore, it can be combined with lemon or mint, as well as oregano.
Rosehip tea has its own characteristics, so after preparing it, it is better to combine it with other products. For example, black tea, herbal tea, and rosehip infusion can be prepared in separate teapots and then mixed in one vessel.
The reason for this is that herbs and black tea are brewed at 90 degrees, while rosehips are brewed at 70 degrees. This is necessary to avoid losing vitamin C, which does not like boiling water.
The most beneficial recipe for making rosehip tea:
First boil the water, then cool it to 70 degrees. Put one tablespoon of rosehips into a porcelain or glass teapot and pour 200 ml of water over them. It is better to find a teapot with a tight-fitting lid, as the rosehips need to steam. If you do not have such a teapot, cover it with a towel. Infuse the drink for 15 minutes and drink it immediately, otherwise the vitamin C, which is abundant in rosehips, will oxidize.
It is best to drink rosehip tea in the morning, as this drink has a clear tonic and invigorating effect.
What other ways can rosehip tea be prepared?
If you want the taste of the rosehip drink to be richer and do not want to lose the vitamin C it contains, try preparing the tea in another way.
Put one tablespoon of rosehips into a deep container and pour 200 g of water over them. Boil for about ten minutes, then leave to cool overnight. The delicious, energizing drink can be drunk warm or cold early in the morning.
Grind 100 g of berries in a blender, pour into a thermos, and pour boiling water over them. Leave for about five hours. Strain out the crushed fruits before drinking.
The drink can also be prepared in a multi-cooker. Select the mode and set the timer for one hour. For this, you will need 100 g of berries and 2 liters of water.
How are rosehips harvested?
The shrub with oval, bright red fruits can be found in gardens and other places. Rosehip grows as a spreading, thorny shrub. Rosehip is a relative of the rose. Its stem has thorns. Its fruits are small and oblong. The color of the berries varies from red to brown.
The rosehip harvesting season falls in mid-autumn, the period before the first frost. The berries on the bushes are carefully picked. Prepare a clean place at home (a sheet or towel, paper will also do) and spread the fruits in a single layer. Leave them in this state for a day.
Once the berries are dry, sort them and remove any excess debris. Rosehips can be dried in one of three ways: naturally, in the air, in a dark and cool place (for a week), in a dryer on standard mode, or in the oven. In the latter case, spread the berries in a single layer and dry them at 50 degrees for five hours. Then cool the fruits.
How to choose rosehips at the market and in the store?
Dried rosehips can be purchased at the market or in the supermarket. When choosing them, pay attention to several aspects.
The color of dried rosehips changes: it goes from red to brown, but still remains uniform. Dried rosehips look like raisins.
Rosehips should not be too dry: when you press the berry, its flesh should be soft.
What other beneficial aspects do rosehips have besides vitamin C?
Rosehips contain a record amount of vitamin C. It is an excellent antioxidant and immune protector, but this is not the only beneficial property of these red berries.
100 g of rosehips contain: vitamin C 426 potassium 429 vitamin A 217 calcium 169 magnesium 69 phosphorus 61
vitamin K 25.9
vitamin E 5.84 iron 1.06
Due to this composition, rosehip tea: reduces pain and lowers the risk of arthritis; serves as a prevention against the formation of stones and bile, which is beneficial for cholecystitis; pectin is beneficial for the intestines; improves potency and stops the development of prostatitis; prevents the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure; eliminates symptoms of toxicosis in pregnant women and relieves swelling; is a folk remedy against diarrhea, like oak bark; helps with weight loss, reducing abdominal fat.