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Meet Eastern Red Cedar: Gathering Juniper Berries

Right now, a resinous wild treat awaits us in the foraging realm. It's bluish, with a flavor that perks up drinks, sauces, stews, ferments, even desserts. The juniper berry harvest is on! 

Eastern Red Cedar is a native, North America evergreen tree. It is scientifically named Juniperus virginiana of the Cypress family (Cupressaceae). It offers us many gifts, from its fragrant wood to its aromatic fruits and leaves.

Juniperus virginiana is dioecious, meaning the male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. The male flowers are tiny golden cones that form at the leaf tips of male trees. 
 
Young female cones are tiny, round and greenish that form at leaf tips of female trees. Over the course of a year, they develop into bluish seed cones with white bloom that contain 1-4 seeds. These bluish seed cones, referred to as juniper berries, are what we use for food and medicine. It takes 10 years for a tree to start producing berries. Note, these fruits have a berry-like appearance, but are technically cones.
 
Harvest & Use
Juniper berries are powerful, full of phytochemicals, not to be consumed in large quantities, but used sparingly to flavor food and drink—perhaps 2-3 berries per serving. Think of how you would use rosemary, a small pinch not a handful. These potent berries are added to marinades, alcoholic beverages (gin), teas, kraut, cabbage dishes, spice rubs, herbal salts, stews, and sauces.
 
Flavor Profile: resinous, aromatic, citrus-grapefruit-y, bitter, mildly sweet with hints of cleansing agent.
 
Therapeutics Actions: stimulating, antimicrobial (cleansing), carminative (digestive support), diuretic (increases urination), plus many more!!! Use cautiously! Do not use when pregnant.
 
Additionally, I enjoy using Juniperus virginiana leaves (and berries too) for their invigorating, cleansing qualities in steams for skin health and upper respiratory health. To learn more about steaming with evergreens, and dive deeply into another glorious evergreen, check out White Pine Love—my free online mini-course. It is waiting for you—go harvest it at www.whitepinelove.com.

Identification 
Its evergreen leaf is made of overlapping scales. Spin the green leaf and green branchlet between your fingers, and you should feel its four sides. Immature leaves are needle-like and prickly. It has exfoliating bark that peels off in thin vertical strips. Bark color: reddish brown, grey. Trunk can be fluted (with grooves).
 
Habitat & Range
Found throughout the USDA hardiness zones 2–9 in full sun to part shade; in dry to moist, but well drained soil. Look for it in meadows, fields, agricultural sites, hedgerows, woodland edges, and rocky slopes.  

Season
Harvest juniper berries in late fall through early spring.

Wishing you resinous richness! 
In gratitude,
Dina

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