HIPS FOR HEALTH

Known in local dialects as hedge-pedgies, pixie pears, nippernails and pig’s noses, rose hips have long been part of the human diet. High in vitamins and minerals, they can be used to make tea, wine, jams and syrups, although care must be taken during preparation. The hips’ lining and the seeds within are covered in fine hairs which act as an irritant, so much so that mischievous children would use them as itching powder. Consumption of rose hips soared during the war. “At the time of the Second World War, it had been realised that rose hips contained 20 times the level of vitamin C of any other wild fruit in Britain,” says botanist Roger Maskew. “As the importing of citrus fruit during the war had almost completely ceased, the Ministry of Agriculture organised the collection of hips on a massive scale, to be used in the preparation of rose hip syrup. During this time, the syrup became a very important part of the nation’s diet, and can still be purchased to this day.”