Juniper berries are modified conifer cones. A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry but a cone with unusually fleshy, merged scales that give it a berry-like appearance. The berries are green when young and mature to purple-black over about 18 months in most species, including J. communis.
Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a Holarctic distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere. Its leaves are needle-like and grow in whorls of three. It is dioecious, with male and female cones on separate plants, so wind must carry the pollen from male to female cones. The fruit are berry-like cones that ripen in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating; they are spherical and 4 to 12 mm across. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones and pass the hard, unwinged seeds in their droppings. A male shrub can live more than 2000 years, and a specimen 1647 years old has been found in Finnish Lapland, within the Arctic Circle. The species is highly variable. Subspecies alpina is usually a prostrate, ground-hugging shrub found in subarctic areas and high alpine zones, while subspecies communis is usually an erect shrub or small tree.
Composition
The oil of juniper berries is composed largely of monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene, myrcene, sabinene, limonene and β-pinene. Juniper berries contain an essential oil in about 2% volume and resins in about 10% of volume. Pinene, sabinene, terpinen-4-ol, limonene and myrcene were among the compounds isolated from extracts of the berries. Besides the oil, the berries contain a flavonoid called juniperin, proteins, and acetic, malic and formic acids. Berry oil of Juniperus communis from Albania is composed mainly of monoterpene hydrocarbons (71.8%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (18.7%). In that analysis 56 compounds were identified, amounting to 98.2% of the constituents. The principal ones were α-pinene (35.8%), β-myrcene (19.9%), sabinene (10.0%) and germacene D (4.5%). The compounds were identified by capillary GC-MS, comparing mass spectra and retention indices with literature records.
Berries
The flavour of young, green berries is dominated by pinene. As the berries mature, this piney, resinous backdrop is joined by green-fresh and citrus notes. Their flavour and odour are strongest immediately after harvest and decline during drying and storage.
Culinary Use
The cones of a handful of species, especially Juniperus communis, are used as a spice, particularly in European cuisine, and give gin its distinctive flavour. Juniper berries are among the few spices derived from conifers, along with spruce buds. The mature, dark berries are usually, but not exclusively, used in cuisine, while gin is flavoured with fully grown, unripe berries. The berries are too bitter to eat raw and are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats, sauces and stuffings. Juniper berries are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. In Finland juniper is a key ingredient in sahti, a traditional ale, and the Slovak beverage Borovička and Dutch jenever are also flavoured with juniper berry or its extract. A few North American juniper species produce a sweeter, less resinous seed cone, and some Native Americans have used such species as a nutritive food. Native Americans have also used the seeds inside juniper berries as beads for jewellery and decoration.
Safety
Juniper berries are classified as generally recognized as safe in the United States, but they may have side effects that have not been tested extensively in clinical trials. Consuming them may affect pregnant or breastfeeding women, mainly because of an increased risk of miscarriage. Allergic reactions are possible, and large amounts may cause catharsis, convulsions or harm to kidney function. The berries of some species, such as J. sabina, are toxic.
History
Benedictine monks in Salerno are thought to have used distilling knowledge to produce alcohol used to dissolve and preserve medicinal plants, including juniper. The Compendium Salernitanum, a collection of remedies compiled around 1055, includes a recipe for a tonic wine infused with juniper. Juniper berries have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs at multiple sites. The Salerno tonic was a medicinal precursor of gin, whereas Dutch genever is the direct ancestor of the beverage now defined as gin. By the mid-17th century, numerous small Dutch and Flemish distillers redistilled malt wine with juniper and other botanicals to mask poor taste and treat ailments like kidney and stomach complaints. Native Americans also used the berries as medicine: the Blackfoot used juniper berry tea to cure vomiting, and Crow women drank it after childbirth. The major village of Wá'peat was derived from the Serrano word for juniper berries, wa'at.
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