Juniper

These exceptionally fragrant juniper berries come from Poland, a country with a rich juniper tradition. Juniper bushes and trees grow wild all over Poland, and it will come as no surprise that we offer precisely that juniper. With Fairwild label.

The juniper is a cypress-like shrub or plant that is one of the oldest plant species on earth. Even before the current continents were formed, it grew up on Pangea, the primeval continent. Nowadays you can find the juniper all over the world, above latitude 40 degrees even in such cold regions as Greenland and Iceland.

The juniper (Juniperus communis), like the pine and the spruce, bears cones - think of pine cones - on the understanding that they are less than a centimeter in size, and that the scales 'merge' into a berry shape during maturation. Therefore, when you try to crush the juniper berry between your fingers, it falls into pieces.

In addition to the production of alcoholic beverages such as jenever, gin, Bénédictine and juniper beer, juniper is used in Polish sausages, pâtés, in the preparation of all types of cabbage - red cabbage, savoy cabbage, sauerkraut - , with hearty tasting meat such as game, poultry (duck, goose), but also with lamb and pork.

Our deep blue juniper berries are exclusively from organic cultivation. They are provided with the Fair Wild label, which is issued for responsible wild harvesting. For more information about this label, we refer to the official website: www.fairwild.org.

Odor and taste

A 'berry' contains only a few oval seeds, sometimes only one. The seeds provide the bitter notes, otherwise the aroma of resin (α-pinene) predominates, with citrus notes and a surprising sweetness. The berries combine excellently with bay leaf and black pepper.

Use

When you crush the juniper berries, they break into chunks. Chop these finely so that you don't get any coarse pieces in your dish, and if you're not so charmed by bitter tones, you immediately remove the single seed. The citrus flavor comes into its own when you combine juniper with fruit, from currants and apple (in red cabbage) to citrus fruits, apples and plums. A less well-known dish is the Corsican prebonata: beef or veal with tomato, eggplant and bell pepper, red wine and juniper.

The scales protect the juniper from drying out, fortunately, otherwise the aromas would evaporate quickly. Don't crush the berries until the last minute, and if you decide to leave them whole in your dish, marinate them beforehand so they can absorb water and are less likely to break.

Attributes:

• 100% dried fruits of the Juniperus communis
• controlled wild harvest - fair wild label
• origin: Poland

Assortment

• available in pouch and glass
• standup pouches contain 30, 45, 60, 150 and 300 grams respectively
• glass jar contains 45 grams
  

Gift Wrap

• the jar is available in a tasteful gift box, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper
• for an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the section  gift packaging 

General advice

• store juniper berries in a dark, dry and cool place
  
• the best before date is an indication