Sea buckthorn is popular with allotment gardeners as well as with friends of healthy home-made jams, syrups and other goodies. This inconspicuous plant is completely edible apart from its roots and tastes really unique.
Sweet and sour red-orange fruits
Sea buckthorn is a dense shrub with many branches and leaves. It can reach a height of two to ten meters. The young plant has initially a silver color and is covered with small scales, its color changes later from silvery to green. The fruits are small, round and have a red-orange colour. They are only a few millimeters large and they have an intense sweet and sour taste. An inexperienced allotment gardener can therefore not determine with certainty whether the fruits are already ripe.
Sea buckthorn thrives in all temperatures
Both sandy or stony, as well as an alkalic or neutral soil is well suited for the cultivation of the sea buckthorn. The buckthorn bush can be found practically everywhere, because it thrives both in the northern and in the southern regions. Sea buckthorn is a relatively undemanding bush and is therefore often planted as part of a small garden or a decorative hedge.
Almost the entire sea buckthorn plant is edible
Buckthorn in honey
The good news for all active gardeners is that you can use almost everything from sea buckthorn – except the roots. The berries, branches, and leaves of sea buckthorn can be used to make homemade syrup, sea buckthorn honey, jam, or other remedies.
Sea buckthorn berries contain not only* around 7% oil, sugars, organic acids, pectins, and tannins, but also other biologically active substances. In smaller amounts, the same combination can also be found in the leaves, twigs, bark, and seeds of sea buckthorn.
Sea buckthorn berries can be consumed fresh, dried, or in powder form. They are used in various sea buckthorn products and recipes. Fresh berries can be used to make sea buckthorn ointment, oil, jam, or syrup, which you can prepare according to the recipes below. Dried sea buckthorn powder can be used, for example, to prepare sea buckthorn with honey, as a seasoning to add a unique flavour to savoury and sweet dishes, or to enrich smoothies and other drinks.
If you do not grow sea buckthorn, do not feel like making your own products, or simply do not have the time, you can enjoy it in our treat – Buckthorn in honey!
Quick-made marmalade from sea buckthorn
For the jam, you will need 1 kg of sea buckthorn berries and 1 kg of sugar. You can adjust the ratio of sugar to sea buckthorn according to your taste, or replace white sugar with a healthier cane sugar or honey.
Wash the sea buckthorn berries thoroughly, place them in a large pot, and cook until softened. Once they start to burst, you can press them through a coarse sieve. Return the mixture to the pot, bring it to a boil, and add the sugar. Stay by the pot and continue stirring for about 5 minutes while gently boiling. Remove the jam from the heat and fill it into jars. You do not need to preserve them in a water bath – simply turn the filled jars upside down.
Powder and tea from sea buckthorn
Sea buckthorn can be also powdered. It's very easy. Dry the fruits in a dehydrator, in the sun or in the attic, then grind them and take a teaspoon of the powder when you feel like it, but only in small quantities. The recommended dosage is one teaspoon in the morning and one teaspoon at noon.
The tea from sea buckthorn leaves tastes great. Use either fresh or dried leaves. The recommended amount of sea buckthorn tea is one cup per day, best in the morning.
Recipe for sea-buckthorn syrup
Pick fresh ripe berries (ideally in the afternoon) and obtain 1 litre of juice by grinding or pressing them. You will need approximately 2 kg of berries.
Heat the juice to a maximum of 40°C and add sugar or honey while stirring continuously. For 1 litre of juice, you will need 1 kg of sugar or honey. If you prefer a thicker syrup, mix in 2 teaspoons of liquid pectin.
Pour the warm syrup into bottles rinsed with boiling water, seal them, and store in a cellar or refrigerator.
When is the right time to harvest sea buckthorn?
The fruits of sea buckthorn have a typical sweet and sour taste. Less experienced gardeners do not therefore know exactly when they should harvest the fruits. Do not miss the correct time of the harvest, otherwise the fruits could lose valuable ingredients. The most common species of sea buckthorn is Leikora, which should be harvested in the first half of September. The variety Hergo matures in the second half of September or early in October. Harvest just the fully ripe fruits, but do not hesitate too long. The amount of valuable ingredients decreases day by day.
* By a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union no. 1924/2006, we are not allowed to provide further information and health claims about this product. The specific effects of buckthorn can be found in other sources on the Internet.
