Welcome to the Wild Foods Guide Page for: Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

Wild Food Guide For: Dog Rose



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Mushrooms and Fungi

Dog Rose


This is the description page for Dog Rose (Rosa canina) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Dog Rose.

Dog Rose

The Dog Rose, Rosa canina, (also known as Wild Rose) is a deciduous shrub and archetype of the Rosaceae (rose) family that's native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It is a scrambler that ranges in height from 1–5m (though it can grow taller by scramblin on tall trees). Like all wild roses it's stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked spines, which aid it in climbing. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers, which develop in June and July are 4-6 cm diameter with five petals and are generally pale pink but can vary between white and deep pink. Once fertilized the flowers mature into an oval 1.5-2 cm red-orange fruit, or hip.

The petals and hips of the dog rose can be consumed. The petals have a subtler scent that those of garden roses and are excellent served neat in salads. They can also be crystallized in sugar and can be made into rose petal wine. Rose petals are also one of the standard flavourings of Turkish Delights. Dog Rose petals also make a very interesting jelly and can be made into jams if used with rhubarb or fruit such as greengages. Rose-petal jam is very popular in the Middle East and is generally eaten with yoghurt.

Rose hips have a very high vitamin C content and they can be used to make rose-hip syrup which was popularized during the Second World War when other sources of Vitamin C were scarce. Rose-hip syrup still represents one of the few examples of a wild foodstup resulting in a commercial product. You can still make rose-hip syrup at home however and it remains one of the simplest ways of removing the internal seeds of the rose-hip whose furry coating can be a digesive irritant. In the Middle Ages rose hips were even used as a dessert where the rose-hips were halved and the seeds and pith removed. The resulting skins were stored in an earthenwear pot until they were sufficiently soft to be passed throug a sieve. The resultant purée was then mixed with equal mass of sugar before being heated until the sugar melted. This was then used as a pie filling. Rose-hips can also be made into an infusion as rose-hip tea and can be converted into marmalade.

Interestingly the term 'dog' applied to the Dog Rose denotes something that's worthless or useless (at least compared with the more showy garden cultivars). Though for the forager this is most certainly not the case.


Recipes Utilizing Dog Rose

Rosehip Purée
Wild Rosehip Soup
Rose Hip Drink
Rose Hip Sorbet
Rose and Almond Tansy
Candied Rose Hips
Rose Hip Marmalade
Crab Apple and Rosehip Jelly
Rosehip Jelly
Dried Rose Hips
Rose Hip Soup
Rose Hip Pudding
Dried Rose Hip Custard Crumble Pie
Rose Hip Apple Sauce
Dried Rose Hip Soup
Dried Rose Hip Ice Cream
Rose Hip Nut Bread
Rose Hip Jam
German Rose Hip Soup
Rose Hip, Hibiscus and Redcurrant Pie
Rose Hip Syrup
Rose Hip and Rowan Berry Jelly
Cobnut Butter Cookies with Dried Rose Hips
Dried Rose Hip Mead
Rose Hip Wine
Hips and Haws Jelly




Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods) it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place.

It is a sad fact that we have lost much of the knowledge we once had of the seasonal wild foods that we have on our own doorstep and which are not only safe to eat but which are also very tasty and fresh. This section of the site grew from the work I've done on the ancient recipes section of this site. After all, for our ancestors before farming wild foods were the only foods available. This guide therefor represents images lists and recipes for various wild foods you can gather and what you can do with them. For the most part the list contains edible plants. But I am beginning to add a new section on edible wild mushrooms and this part of the site will be expanding to include many other plants and species very soon. If you would like to know how to cook with these wild foods, then as well as having links to individual recipes on these pages you can also visit my Wild Food Recipes pages for many more (over 1000 and growing) recipe ideas.



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