Our microdistillery is going to be making gin. I'd like to know which species of juniper to use for the berries which will flavor it. Also, someone said that the berries were toxic. Is that true? Any other information about the use of juniper as a flavoring would be helpful, too.
Most often it is Juniperus communis whose female fruit can be used to flavor gin. Oil is distilled from the fruit when it is ripe (usually in fall). It is the female fruits (berry-like cones) which are used as flavoring, as this Washington State University information mentions.
North Carolina State University's Poisonous Plants database lists juniper as having low toxicity if consumed, and simultaneously describes the fleshy cones ("berries") as both poisonous and edible, which I understand to mean that if you ingested large quantities of them it might be unwise, but there is a long tradition of using them for flavoring.
The web page of Bill Casselman has a fascinating exploration of the etymology and history of juniper and gin.
A 1998 article by J. Karchesy of the Department of Forest Products at Oregon State University discusses the uses of juniper for specialty products:
"The juniper berry oil of commerce is an essential oil produced by steam distillation of
Juniperus communis berries. This oil is composed mainly of monoterpenes, including
a-pinene, myrcene and sabinene as major components, lesser amounts of sesquiterpenes and
other volatile compounds. Commercial production is carried out in several European countries including Italy, France, Germany, and Austria. Perhaps the most famous use of this product is to flavor gin and alcoholic bitters. It is generally recognized as safe for human consumption (GRAS) and also finds use in many other food products such as frozen desserts, gelatins,puddings, and meats."
Season
All Season
Date 2010-08-27
Link to this record only (permalink)
