• Tuesday 11 April 2017

    How and Where to Grow Juniper Berry


    Juniper Berries Forever Green




    Common Juniper (Juniperus communis) with ripe (purple/blue) and unripe (green) berries.

    I don't think this would be easy to find at a nursery, but some might carry it. The Chinese Juniper and hybrids of it are the most common. If you live where this tree grows, you should be able to find very small baby Common Junipers around and transplant one or two. I find they transplant very easily when young. When you find a mature one, just wander around it, as there are sure to be little ones.



    Foraging for Juniper Berries

    Joel and I were in Tahoe recently and I said to him, “I’m sure we can find some Juniper trees while we’re here.”  After spending many years in Yosemite, I figured Juniper trees were fairly common in the Sierras, but we didn’t see any in Tahoe!  However, not more than a week later, when I was back home in southern Oregon and running on a different route than usual due to serious heavy rains that flooded my regular path, I found a stand of Juniper trees with some plump berries.  So, right here at home, I was foraging for Juniper Berries!



    Recipe: How to make your own gin

    Juniper berries are an absolute necessity in a gin recipe

    Simply combine all the ingredients in a clean bottle and leave for a few days in a cool dark place. Usually after about 3 days the gin has taken on plenty of flavour but you can leave it longer to intensify.



    Juniper Berries Know Your Herbs and Spices

    If you ever had a Martini or Gin and Tonic then you’ve drank juniper berries. These small, round blue-colored berries are the flavoring ingredient in gin.



    All About Juniper Berry

    Juniper berries found in the grocery store and in gin are those of the common juniper, which grows as a low sprawling shrub and can be found in many parts of North America as well as Europe. However, it is not so "common" in the mid-Atlantic and other regions, as it favors cliff edges and rocky soils.



    Juniper Berries Foraged Flavor: All About Juniper

    There are some 60 species of juniper found around the world, growing in different ways: some as shrubs, low and sprawling; some more upright as trees. In North America, there are 13 indigenous species that grow wild, and more that are commercially cultivated varieties, not all of which are edible. If you look closely at a juniper branch, you'll find that they all have tiny scale-like needles. On younger trees, the needles can be sharp and prickly.


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