Foraging ‘Salt Spray Rose’ Hips to Use in Tomato Recipes

Reader Contribution by Marion Gabriela Wick
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A homestead located at 55th latitude is probably not considered to be a good place for to grow tomatoes. We do own a few tomato plants, carefully snuggled up against the south wall of our brick-built cottage, and we are cherishing every single tomato, having managed to change color from green to somewhat reddish.

‘Salt Spray’ Rose Hips as Tomato Replacement

Well, the poor tomato-growing conditions actually don’t matter, because, instead of tomatoes, we successfully cultivate Rosa rugosa, also known as the “Salt Spray Rose,” one of the most frost- and sea salt-tolerant wild roses.

Rosa rugosa is not only present on our property, but also growing wild all over the district. It starts to blossom early, at the beginning of June, and from August, it bears tons of plum-sized, bright red hips, with a thick layer of soft sweetish-sour flesh covering a large cavity filled with seeds. Not only their large size and unusual tenderness remind me of tomatoes, but also the taste of the flesh does, especially when cooked.

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