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Wild Service Berry Flour
Wild Service Berry Flour is a traditional French recipe for converting wild service berries into a dried powder suitable for baking or use as a thickener or as a seasoning for cereals. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic French dish of Wild Service Berry Flour.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
10 minutes
Total Time:
30 minutes
Additional Time:
(+60 hours drying)
Makes:
300g
Rating: 
Tags : Wild FoodBaking RecipesFrench Recipes
The berries of the Wild Service tree can be turned into a powder which can be used to bulk-out bread flour or to be used as a thickener in stews. It also makes an excellent condiment for use with cereals and cakes. In the past, it used to be used quite commonly in this respect during the Middle Ages and the French also used Wild Service Berries for the same purpose during the Second World War. This is a base recipe for a number of other recipes on this site.
Method:
It's best to pick the wild service berries after a frost, as this will eliminate any presorbic acid in them (they do not typically contain much, but there is some). The berries also contain cyanide, but this will be destroyed by oven drying. When you have picked the berries, remove the stems, wash well then set out on a radiator or a sunny spot to dry. Now set out in a cool and dry spot to 'blet'. Allow the berries to mature until they are at the point of rotting. This will immeasurably improve the flavour. At this stage, you can begin the drying process.
Place the fruit on a baking tray (well separated) and place in an oven heated to 50°C over night for about seven nights, until completely dry and crumbly.
When the fruit are completely dry either pound to a powder in a pestle and mortar (or use a coffee grinder) then sift the paste through a fine-meshed sieve. The resultant powder can be stored long-term in an air-tight jar. Typically 500g of fresh wild service berries will yield 200g of powder, so this recipe will give you about 800g of wild service berry powder.
Typically this was used as a flour substitute or flour additive to make breads, cakes and porridge or pap. The powder also makes a flavoursome condiment for sprinkling over breakfast cereals or custards.
