In Search of Juniper
By Eric Hatch
There I was again, standing in an aisle of a grocery store looking like an idiot – seems to happen often for me. Fourth grocery store in a day and still shit-out of luck. It was a long shot, but I thought I would take a chance.
“Do you carry juniper berries?” I asked one of the employees. He looked at me with thin, contemplating eyes. “What’s a juniper berry?”
The juniper berry can be found on different species of the coniferous juniper trees. The juniper berry is actually a sphere shaped cone (like a pine tree’s pinecones), taking on the uncanny appearance of a hardened blueberry. The outer layer of the berry is relatively flavorless and is often crushed before being used in cooking to release its natural flavor. Most dishes use the dark purple mature berries, which can take two years to fully ripen, but it is the immature green berries (14 to 18 months) that is used in making gin.
Mmmmmmm….gin……
The first time I tried a juniper berry was when a friend of mine invited me to his place for a beef brisket dinner. This was his first time he cooking such a massive piece of meat, and needed someone there to both congratulate him on his culinary victory, and help him eat it. Picture it – two twentysomething guys attempting to devour a 10 pound beef brisket in one sitting. An impossible task!
My buddy ran to the kitchen to get some kind of vegetable to cleanse our pallet of the meaty-goodness. “This is all I have,” he said, bringing a half gallon Ball mason jar to the table. Its contents – pickled cucumbers.
God knows I love a good pickle.
The brine inside the bottle was cloudy and a dark mustard yellow colour. Following the green skins of the Kirby cucumbers to the bottom of the jar, I saw something that looked like large black peppercorns with stems. Curious, I unscrewed the cap and used my fork to pop off the lid.
I put my fork in and instead of pulling out what my friend calls a “juicy dillies,” (sounds totally rank, I know!) I went straight for the deformed peppercorn. Examining it on my plate, it looked like a miniature purple grape that never developed. The aroma of garlic, onion and dill it gave off was incredible – uniquely different from a Bick’s or Moishe’s bottle. Without hesitation, I ate it.
Expecting a shock of bitter heat from the peppercorn I thought it was, I was surprised that it had a rich piney taste and a subtle sweetness to it. The flavor was comforting – reminding me of a good cup of tea. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I then tried one of the pickles. It was sour, sweet and had an unmistakable earthy undertaste to it – unlike any pickle I’ve ever tasted. So I asked my friend what the mystery ingredient was.
“It’s a juniper berry,” he said.
Juniper berries are popular in Scandinavian cooking. It helps add a deep woodsy flavor to most dishes. They’re popularly added to fowl and gamier meat dishes, such as venison and boar, and often used in the making of sauerkraut or pickling. They can be eaten raw, but only if you don’t mind their grainy texture. When dried berries are soaked in warm water, they plump up and are a perfect source of vitamin C. Scientists have recently been researching the use of juniper berries as a means of controlling diabetes.
But don’t expect to find any juniper berries in your local supermarkets. They can be bought in health food stores in bulk for a decent price (about $7.00 per pound). You can maybe even find them in your backyard, if you have a juniper tree.
So try out these piney berries in your next meat course or if you’re into pickling. After looking for them for nearly a month, I think it was well worth it.
Recipe: “Juicy Dillies” with Juniper
Ingredients
-1 kilogram of Kirby cucumbers, washed and cut in half or quartered.
-1 onion, sliced into thick rings
-4 sprigs of fresh dill
-2 cups white vinegar
-2 cups water
-3 tbsp sugar
-2 tbsp salt
-3 cloves garlic, peeled and half
-1 tbsp mustard seed
-3 to 6 juniper berries (depending on size)
-1/4 cinnamon stick
-1 tsp black peppercorns
-1 bay leaf
-1 clove
Place the cucumbers, onions and dill sprigs in four 750-ml (three cups) mason jars. Place the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Bring heat to a medium-low and simmer for five minutes. Evenly pour the brine into the jars and let cool for about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for one month before serving.
