Foraging for Sea Buckthorn Berries

Sea Buckthorn berries, or Sea Berries Hippophae, Hippophae rhamnoides (Elaegnaceae)

There's nothing like foraging for your own wild berries, especially when it's combined with a walk along the coast, plus they're a nutrient rich super fruit! Even the colour of sea buckthorn berries are a vibrant pick-me-up.

Where do sea buckthorn berries grow?

Here in Western Europe you can find them along the coast and on sand dunes. They also grow all along the Atlantic coasts of Europe, Central Europe and North Europe and are present and native in Asia, China, Mongolia, Siberia and Russia.

They've been introduced in Canada (Quebec, Alberta and  Saskatchewan), and exist as experimental crops planted in Arizona and Neveda. I know of several farms in the UK growing cultivated varieties, some of which are from wild seeds.

When to harvest sea buckthorn berries?

Sea buckthorn berries are ready to harvest and pick from late summer to autumn and in some areas they can still be picked through winter and after the first frost.

Harvesting times do depend on the variety, but think of spring as the pollinating season and the berries coming later in the year.

Why are sea buckthorn berries good for you?

These small, bright orange sea buckthorn berries are so good for you! They mobilise high levels of vitamin C - about 12 times more than oranges and have more beta-carotene than carrots. They have a fantastic range of vitamins including A for teeth and bones, B1, B2, B6 and B12, vitamin E for red blood cells, K for blood clotting and to stop bleeding, numerous minerals and omega 3, 6, 7 and 9 oils for healthy skin.

Traditionally sea buckthorn berries, leaves and seeds have been used to prevent aging, treat skin problems and promote healthy hearts.

Sea buckthorn berries also contain antioxidants that help protect the body and strengthen the immune system as well as fibre to support healthy gut bacteria.

How to identify sea buckthorn

Sea buckthorn can grow up to 10 metres tall and can form as a dense shrubby, thickets that are hard to penetrate. Thorny, with long, untoothed silvery-green leaves, the orange berries nestle close the stem, but only on the female plants. Sea buckthorn flowers in spring with tiny, greenish male and female flowers.

What is the flavour of sea buckthorn berries?

Tangy, tart, sour, with a hint of bitterness at the end. I find it far more flavoursome than lemons and more versatile and giving in recipes. See my recipes for sea buckthorn curd cup cakes.

How to harvest sea buckthorn berries?

These gems of tangy flavour don’t give them selves up easily. Nestled tightly to thorny branches and ready to burst forth, quite literally, from their tree. They demand respect and careful picking.

There’s an art to capturing the juice of Sea buckthorn berries, and you basically have two choices.

1. Full of juice and a small black pip, if you pick them too late you’ll only be left with orange stains and empty, juicy fingers. If you catch them early enough, you can twist the berries off the branches, collecting them in a container that will hold any seeping juice.
2. The second option is to use secateurs (pruning scissors) and snip off abundant berry branches and freeze them. Once frozen, it is a lot easier to remove the berries from the branches, though care still needs to be taken around the thorns.

How to use sea buckthorn berries?

You an use the juice diluted with water, in cocktails or numerous recipes. Some of my favourite culinary creations with sea buckthorn berries are;

• Sea buckthorn juice
• Sea buckthorn curd
• Sea buckthorn curd cup cakes
• Sea buckthorn thick, syrupy, syrup
• Sea buckthorn and ginger frozen cheesecake
• Sea buckthorn and carrot cake

References

• Selfhacked.com
• British sea buckthorn
• The forager handbook and wild flowers of the british isles.

Related posts:

Gorgeous Sea Buckthorn Frozen Cheesecake Recipe Sea Buckthorn Curd Cup Cakes Recipe Sea Buckthorn and Carrot Cake Recipe Pickled Rock Samphire Recipe