Sea Buck thorn berries Harvest & Preserves

Sea Buck thorn berries harvest

September was a busy time for us in preparing for the winter planting after the summer holiday break and harvest season of  Fall Garden . Sea buck thorn berries was one of the first on the list of September harvests in addition to some butternut squash and the remaining summer vegetables. As a result of the good harvest we had, I had to find a quick way to preserve them.

Due to lack of time we decided to make them into jams. I will get to that in the second half of this blog post.

What are Sea Buck thorn berries?

These berries are also called as Sand thorn or sallow thorn. The German word is Sanddorn.  These common shrubs have dense and stiff branches and are very thorny. The leaves on these shrubs are a distinct pale silvery-green color.

“The buck thorn berry plants are dioecious with separate male and female plants. The males produce brownish flowers which produce wind distributed pollen to the female plants. The female plants as a result of the pollination produce orange berries which are oval and are about 6 -9 mm in diameter. The sea buck thorn berries are soft, juicy and rich in oils.”

More information about the sea buck thorn berries and shrubs can be found in   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippophae

 Harvesting Tips:

For harvesting the berries you will need a good pair of thick gardening gloves as the branches are laden with thick and sharp thorns and a good pair of very sharp shrub cutter.  Cut the branches with the berries. Then carefully pick the berries from the branches for use.

Uses of Sand thorn berries:

These berries are made into jams, teas, liquors and cosmetics. I have personally bought hand creams, and body lotions made out of sandthorn berries. Because I had very little time to try out other ways to preserve these berries, I choose to go for the easiest and fool proof option. I made a jam out of it. The jam would make an ideal Christmas present since I love giving gifts made personally by me.

Check out also my post on Top 10 Sea Buckthorn Recipes.

How to make Sea Buckthorn Berry jam

Scroll down for a printable version of the recipe

Ingredients:

1000 g of Buckthorn berries

500 g of pectin sugar

75 ml of water.

Clean sterilized glass jars

Method :

1. Add the water to the berries and cook the berries till soft and the skin starts to crack.
2. Mash the berries using a sieve or a food mill.You can also use the puree attachment of your mixer.
3. Add the sugar to the fruit puree and cook it down to thicken the jelly. This takes about 20 min.
4. To test if its ready for bottling , drop a few drops on to a plate and tilt it. If the jelly is still flowing when the plate is tilted, therefore its not yet ready for the bottling process.
5. Repeat this process till the jelly stops flowing and fill into sterilized jars immediately. Close the lids tightly.

Sea Buckthorn Berries Harvest and Jam Tutorial Video

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Sea Buck thorn Berries Jam

Serves: 50 Prep Time: 1H Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 30 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 3.9/5

( 13 voted )

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Ingredients

• 1000 g of Buckthorn berries
• 500 g of pectin sugar
• 75 ml of water.
• Clean sterilized glass jars

Instructions

1. Add the water to the berries and cook the berries till soft and the skin starts to crack.
2. Mash the berries using a sieve or a food mill.You can also use the puree attachment of your mixer.
3. Add the sugar to the fruit puree and cook it down to thicken the jelly. This takes about 20 min.
4. To test if its ready for bottling , drop a few drops on to a plate and tilt it. If the jelly is still flowing when the plate is tilted, therefore its not yet ready for the bottling process.
5. Repeat this process till the jelly stops flowing and fill into sterilized jars immediately. Close the lids tightly.

Notes

The hot air when cooled will create a vacuum consequently this helps to preserve the jam. While bottling its best to do it on an wooden surface because this will help prevent the jars from cracking.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How did it go? Tag me on Instagram at @vitalfairliving.

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