GO WILD
James Wood is a renowned experimental wild food forager running wild food cookery and foraging courses. Here he shares with us his recipe for delightfully delicate rose hip ice lollies
The summer is now drawing to an end and as we head into September and the streets turn from a leafy green to a beautiful array of autumnal colours, nature has decided to give us one last flourish of edible delights. Berries will begin to emerge all around us, blackberries will be amass on canals and country walks, elder will droop with the weight of its berries and the English and Japanese rose will flush with vibrant orange red fruits.
Japanese/Dog Rose (Rosa Canina/Rugosa)
This is a deciduous shrub growing from one metre to five metres tall. The plant’s numerous stems are woody and strong, containing thorns and prickles all over.
The leaves grow from three to six centimetres long are odd-pinnate, containing five to seven leaflets with serrated edges. The top of the leaf is rough and dark green whilst the under-side is slightly lighter with soft hairs all over.
The flowers range from white to pink and light red with yellow stamens, they are approximately three to five centimetres across and hold five petals, typical of flowers in the rose family.
The fruit goes from green to a deep orange-red, when ripe, it ranges from a ball or droplet shape as on Japanese rose to more of a rugby ball or egg shape on dog rose.
Both dog rose and Japanese rose can be used in this recipe. I personally use the hips for everything from sundried rose hips, to making soups and salads. It’s a little like a sweet tomato – the classic is rose hip syrup, however here we’re making creamy rose hip ice lollies – a great way to get kids to top up their vitamin C levels!
James Wood’s The Forager’s Cookbook is available through Amazon
www.totallywilduk.co.uk
