What do Celtic Sea Salt and Rose Hips have to do with each other?
Not a darned thing! They just happen to be the 2 subjects I am chatting about today.
Harvest season is upon us and there is no better time to collect rose hips than right now. I started to harvest them last week and we have not had a frost yet so most of them are still perfect. There are years where I wait for the first frost – which sets them into the red color, however this year we are dry and I am finding they are ripening without the frost.
Rose hips are the pod formed after a rose flower has bloomed. The petals fall off and a seed pod forms, it is green at first but will change and continue to grow, changing colour to orange and then to a deep red when ripe.
My dogs love to come and harvest with me, they will pick the rose hips right off the plant and eat them. Sometimes the little hairs inside of rose hips will make them cough but for the most part, they love munching on them.
Be Warned! Rose bushes are prickly things! Do not grab the bush to hold it while picking the rose hips and you should use gloves while picking.
If the rose hips are wrinkled and squishy, pass them by. You should be able to find plump red ones still on the bushes. Those are the ones we want, if they come off of the stem easily they are ripe. If they are orange, wait for a red color and if they do not pull off easily, leave them there.
Why should we pick them?
Rose hips have an amazing amount of vitamin C, 50% more than oranges, plus antioxitants, vitamins A, B complex, E, K, minerals calcium, silicia, iron. Rose hips have anti-inflammatory properties.
They can be used for tea, jellies, wine, oil for skin, syrup. Most recipes use dried rose hips although I have used fresh ones for tea and to make my rose hip syrup.
The syrup is so easy – only sugar and fresh rose hips. I made some up last week and tasted it this morning. Yum!
Someone asked me if you can use honey instead of sugar, I have never tried it so if you do – let me know.
To make the syrup I alternate layers of fresh rose hips then sugar in a mason jar. Put the lid on and let it sit in a cool dark place for a week or two. The result will be a honey like consistency syrup – very sweet and full of vitamin C. When the jar is totally syrup, strain out the rose hips and throw them away and keep the syrup to use throughout the winter. We use it around here for sore throats, coughs and colds. One tablespoon will soothe any sore throat. Some people use the syrup on pancakes or ice cream, but it is rather sweet.
Rose hip tea uses 1 tsp of crushed and whole rose hips in 1 cup of water, but please put the water through a seive so that all the little hairs inside the rose hips are removed. You can use fresh or dried rose hips for tea.
To dry rose hips, I pick them and then when I get home I destem them and pull off the “tail” on them. I put them into a paper lunch bag whole and place in a warm location. On top of the fridge works well or I have a sun filled window that also works for me. I let the rose hips sit in the bag for 2-3 weeks until fully dry. Then I put them in a mason jar to store over the winter, they must be totally dry as they will mould if there is still any moisture inside. They can be used whole or crushed.
Rosehip oil is a must for skin. It is like a refreshing drink for your skin. Use dried rose hips because fresh ones will likely mould. Put some oil, preferably light, like grapeseed oil in a jar and add some crushed and whole rose hips. Put the lid on and let it sit for 4-6 weeks in a dark cool place. Strain after the sitting period and use on your skin. It is that easy, it has no preservatives so use the oil up before a month.
Salt: What is the reason that Dr’s tell you to stay away from salt in your diet? There are a few reasons they might tell you.
#1 Too much salt can affect your blood pressure causing it to climb and resulting in high blood pressure.
#2 Too much salt can affect your water in your body because it causes you to be much more thirsty bringing on water retention issues.
#3 Poor sleep, too much salt can make falling asleep difficult and it can reduce the quality of sleep.
#4 Thirst, too much salt can make you very thirsty.
The sea salt you buy in the stores and get in restaurants is white – that salt has been processed and bleached to get it to it’s white color. All the minerals have been removed and then they add iodine to the salt so you get the one mineral they add.
Original “sea salt” comes from the sea. Celtic Sea Salt comes from the seas of France, in a town called Guerande. Back in 1976, a doctor was the first to share his knowledge and salt with the world. Because it is not overly processed, and is harvested in the 1,000 year old Celtic method using wooden rakes to preserve the minerals, it is grey in color and slightly “wet”, it has not been dried right out. Because of this, the salt retains it’s minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium.
I was told by the company back when I was in the health food industry that Celtic sea has over 60 minerals in it and it will not affect your blood pressure like regular white salt. I have found this to be true for me. I tend to have higher blood pressure with the normal table salt than with the Celtic salt. I looked up various “studies” and found there are arguments on both side for the salt there. I can only tell you what I have found for myself.
Celtic salt comes in both small chunkier granuals and in a finer granular form most like you are used to. The finest grind is a kind called “flower of the ocean”. This is the premium Celtic sea salt. It is the salt at the top of the brine so it is smaller and more delicate. Known as a finishing salt, it has won awards for it’s flavour and it has a higher mineral content.
Indulging in any salt can be harmful to your body if you misuse it, but if you were to put some salt into or onto your food, you might want to consider Celtic Sea Salt. The flavour of this salt is far superior to anything you have tasted. I am not a salt person but I love Celtic Sea Salt! It is delicious. Sprinkle some on a fresh cucumber, tomato or even popcorn and indulge.
You can find Celtic sea salt in most health food stores or online.
There you have it – two food groups you may have not thought much about before, hopefully you learned something new and taste worthy today.
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