Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Juniper along with all the Juniper containing recipes presented on this site, with 43 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Juniper as a major wild food ingredient.

The Common Juniper Juniperus communis is a large woody shrub and a member of the Cupressaceae (cypress) family of conifers. It is found in sub-Arctic and temperate zones throughout the Northern Hemisphere and is known in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Common Juniper bears needle-like leaves arranged in whorls of three and it's dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Like all conifers it bears seed cones, but these are spherical and berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating. These are typically harvested in the autumn when fully ripe and then dried for further use.

The cones are about 4–8mm in diameter and take 2–3 years to mature.

The astringent blue-black seed cones, known colloquially as 'juniper berries' are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. These cones are also an essential ingredient in the making of gin. It's also possible to use the berries, when roasted, to make a coffee substitute. A flour can also be made from the roasted berries which can be baked into cakes (though these need both sugar/honey and salt added to the mixture to counteract the bitterness of the berries). In France, a comfiture or jam is made from juniper berries. A tea can be made from an infusion of the berries, which has a spicy gin-like flavour. An essential oil is sometimes distilled from the fruit — this is used as a flavouring (but yields are low).

The young leaves and stem tips can also be boiled in water to make a tea.

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants