Berry fruit · Ericaceae
American Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Sharply tart with a slight bitterness and restrained sweetness. Dried cranberries are often sweetened and give a different balance from fresh fruit.
The Alchemist's Pantry
The Berry Chronicles
Where Distinctive Flavours Are Crafted.
Berries, hedgerow fruits and woodland fruits.
Turn a reviewed leaf from this chapter. Historical sources, flavour affinities and kitchen notes accompany each ingredient.
Berry · ripe fruit
Bilberry
Vaccinium myrtillus
Bilberry combines dark-fruit sweetness with lively acidity and a gently earthy character. The small berries have tender skins and intensely coloured flesh and juice. Their tartness can make them feel more concentrated than a mild...
Aggregate fruit · Rosaceae
Blackberry
Rubus fruticosus agg.
Sweet-tart dark fruit with a wine-like depth and a mild tannic edge. Ripeness and variety strongly affect acidity.
Berry fruit · Grossulariaceae
Blackcurrant
Ribes nigrum
Strongly tart, with concentrated dark-fruit sweetness and a distinctive green, slightly resinous edge. Cooking with a measured sweetener rounds the acidity.
Culinary aromatic · fleshy seed cones · Cupressaceae
Juniper
Juniperus communis
Resinous and pine-like, with a dry woody edge, a little bitterness and a fresh, almost citrus-like lift when crushed. Its distinctive perfume is often more important than heat. A few fragments can remain noticeable beside...
☙ The Berry Chronicles ❧