The Spoil of Mariners (a good reason to store Vitamin C for emergencies)

Lapham's Quarterly ^ | 18SEP2013 | Colin Dickey

[Jack Hydrazine]

An article on scurvy opens up with the story of the Norwegian whaling station named Smeerenburg, which was abandoned every winter during the off season. When someone got the great idea to leave seven men there all winter to guard equipment, they all died by the end of February.

Scurvy is a particularly horrible way to die, as lack of vitamin C prevents the body from producing sufficient collagen. The symptoms include pain, bleeding, and the inability to move correctly as the body falls apart at the seams. Couple these awful symptoms with the fact that no one knew why it happened, and many societies did not know how to cure it, until James Lind experimented with folk remedies in 1747, including citrus fruits. Even that did not help much, as it took decades for authorities to implement Lind's recommendations.

[Jack Hydrazine]

I don’t know who is in charge of the Prepper’s Ping List but be sure to let them know.

[blackdog]

Rose bush hips contain enough vitamin C to ward off scurvy. Rose hips are the round knob left after the rose has bloomed and the petals have died back. The rose hips can be dried and stored in a mason jar or in plastic bags. They can be eaten as is, or as I prefer.......make a tea from them. They can also be boiled, mushed up, mixed with sugar and pectin to make a really nice tart jam or jelly.

An outstanding tea when you have the cold or flu is to mix rose hips, chamomile, and honey. The tea beats back a cold in just about two days.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Ping!

[Girlene]

Thanks for that explanation...I never knew what a rose hip was.

[To Hell With Poverty]

Kartographer’s your guy.

[blackdog]

http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/how-to-dry-store-rose-hips-rosa-canina

[thecodont]

Aren’t pine needles supposed to have antiscorbutic properties also?

[Jack Hydrazine]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip

[expat1000]

Broccoli and bell/sweet, red or green peppers are high in C.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Antiscorbutic substances derived from coniferous trees
http://cdm15290.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15290coll6/id/999/rec/6

[Jack Hydrazine]

You can make pine needle tea that has that property.

[blackdog]

Rose hip
The rose hip, also known as rose haw or rose hep, is the fruit of the rose plant, that typically is red-to-orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. WikipediaNutrition Facts
Rose hipsAmount Per 100 grams
Calories 162

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.3 g 0%
Sodium 4 mg 0%
Potassium 429 mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 38 g 12%
Dietary fiber 24 g 96%
Sugar 2.6 g
Protein 1.6 g 3%
Vitamin A 86% Vitamin C 710%
Calcium 16% Iron 6%
Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 17%
*Per cent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Sources include: USDA

[Jane Long]

Good to know (about Rose Hips tea, etc.). Thanks ;)

[Jack Hydrazine]

But if you have a SHTF scenario happen in the fall to winter you’ve got to have some bottled vitamin C to get you by until the first crop of rose hips is ripe enough to harvest.

[blackdog]

I'm not sure about pine needles, although the deer eat them starting in around January. That makes their meat taste piney for a while.

They also remind me of the whole hemlock thing with Socrates.

I also grow and dry lingonberries, apricots, and can plums, apples, as well as pickle cauliflower, carrots, onions, green beans, boiled eggs, kolrhabi, okra, and just about anything that grows. My favorite is boiled eggs with beets, cloves, cinnamon sticks, hot peppers, a little brown sugar, and sliced onions.

[blackdog]

Actually rose hips stay on the bush all winter long. That is until the birds hit on them in about february. No need to feel rushed to harvest them.

[jdege]

Two things. First, how much vitamin C you need depends strongly on what you eat. Requirements when eating a high-carb diet are much higher than when eating a diet higher in healthy fats. Second, sprouted grains have 3x the vitamin C content of unsprouted grains.

[Jack Hydrazine]

My neighbors rose bushes sure are looking more delicious all the time!

[blackdog]

Washington was well known for his interesting beer brewing efforts based on what he could get his hands on. Barley, oats, or wheat sprouted then roasted along with molases, and all kinds of goofy aeromatics, fruit peels, and herbs. Rose hips was one of them. So was citrus peels, apple peels, cardamom, cloves, and so on.................

I really think our founding fathers discovered the desire to govern while engaged in competetive beer brewing and consumption. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the time would be one of my biggest wishes if god grants them post facto.