Juniper berries for pastrami

[pit 4 brains]

Has anyone picked these right from the tree and used them? I have a ****load of Junipers up on my 40 that leave piles of these things on the ground every summer. Do they come from a certain species of Juniper?

 

[meat hunter]

You know I was reading up on that myself last month when I did venison pastrami. From what I gathered, not all Juniper berries are created equal so I went to the local health food store and bought them. 2 bucks for about a cup of them.

 

[mballi3011]

I have never heard of picking juinper but I don't grow anything but my waist line here. I know that bob had a bunch of fresh berries so somebody picked them. But I know it is a good start to an exchange you might just have there Pit 4 brains.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Well I did a little research and found that I have Juniperus osteosperma on my property so now I just need to find out if they are the right ones for the mix and if so, when do I need to harvest them. I'm thinking I could get a few bucketloads (5 gal.) in a single trip.
Any gin makers or runners in the house know what species they come from??

 

[coffee_junkie]

They come from common juniper. Just give one to the neighbors dog and see what happens. If nothing use em. No really I read that if you pinch them in your finger and get a desirable aroma they are okay. The research that i did sounded like the yew berrys look very similar but are toxic. If you search on google there is a ton of info.

 

[scubadoo97]

You know that's how they discovered the coffee cherry was not toxic. Except it was a goat.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Well I found that the Native Americans used the juniper berries here for medicinals and as a female contraceptive....

Hey hunny, have some more pastrami...

 

[gnubee]

I checked with wikipedia some species of juniper berries are toxic. Note your variety of juniper is not mentioned in this list. The complete article in wikipedia says that Juniperus communis, is useable for cooking. I have both a yew and a juniper in my front yard. The berries are very dissimilar, the juniper is a hard little dry berry actually a cone not a berry. The Yew has a bright red soft berry the size of a small pea with a large pit in the center. They look like small cherrys and are very poisonous. You would never mistake one for the other.

All juniper species grow berries, but some are considered too bitter to eat. In addition to J. communis, other edible species include Juniperus drupacea,[2] Juniperus oxycedrus,[3] Juniperus phoenicea,[4] Juniperus deppeana, and Juniperus californica.[5] Some species, for example Juniperus sabina, are toxic and consumption is inadvisable.[6]

 

[pit 4 brains]

So then the bottom line is to go get some, crush and smell them. If they are pleasently aromatic then i'll steep some to see how the brew smells. I'de hate to ruin a precious piece of elk meat with a bad cure. Perhaps I'll try a pastrami with a hunk of brisket first.

 

[the dude abides]

I'd check with a college that might be in your area and see if they have some sort of agriculturial program. Surely you could take a baggie of them to the school and they'd be able to analize them and see if they're safe for consumption.

When I hear the word "toxic" and "not sure" in the same thread...well, I'd find somebody smarter than myself who could actually touch, see and feel the berries that you have to give me the advice.

Not that anyone here would intentionally (hopefully anyways) give you bad information. It's just that this sounds serious enough that maybe you ought to get a professional involved. You may be ruining more than just a piece of elk meat.

Good luck, hope it all works out for the positive.

 

[pit 4 brains]

My sis-in-law is a homeopathic or naturopathic physician ( a hippie with a phd) so I'll see if she has anything in her herb and incense books..