This morning I found a wrinkled old lady perched on the sidewalk just outside the produce market, selling plastic bags full of the berries. They were only 2 KM, about $1--a fraction of the price I'd paid for huckleberries I bought a few weeks ago at the produce market. "I'll have to always buy from the people on the sidewalk," I thought to my frugal self. I bought 2 bags, figuring I'd freeze one for our family.
Then I took them home and sat down to sort through them before I started cooking. That was my first hint that something might be wrong. One of them was connected to an evergreen needle. And they seemed a little hard. I stuck one in my mouth and bit down. Instead of that succulent burst of huckleberry juice, it was grainy, and my mouth filled with the taste of Christmas tree--not gingerbread or candy canes but tree.
I think they're juniper berries. (At least last time I bought mystery food it was on purpose.)
Luckily our neighborhood supermarket had frozen cherries and berries, and I
cooked up 2 very nioe fruit sauces. But now I have two big bags of juniper berries. Any ideas?I've been using Orangette as my go-to cooking source here, but she's no help on this one.
