Barberry: Use of the berries in the kitchen

2025 Author: Leonars Benson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 11:22

While almost all other parts of the barberry plant contain toxic substances, there are certainly culinary uses for the plant's berries. Here you can find out what possible uses and what you should pay attention to.

What can I use barberry for?

You can getjuice or make jam from barberry berries. It is also possible to dry the berries. Thedried fruits contain a lot of vitamin C and, with their sour taste, are suitable as a substitute for vinegar.

Which barberry offers edible berries?

You should only harvest fruit from theCommon barberry (Berberis vulgaris). The barberry bush, which is widespread in Germany, offers you red berries from autumn onwards. When using it, you should only use the pulp of the barberry berry. However, many other plant parts of the shrub contain berbarine and berbamine. These are poisonous alkaloids from barberry.

Is it possible to use barberry raw?

The raw fruits of the barberry areedible, but taste verysour It is not without reason that the barberry is also nicknamed sour thorn. The sour taste of the shrub's red vinegar berry is enhanced by its high vitamin C content. Processing the fruit and adding sugar to its juice or pulp creates a sweeter product. In principle, the high vitamin content of the fruits definitely speaks in favor of using the plant.

How do I get juice from barberries?

Boil barberry berries together withsugarin a potwater. This is how it can be used for making juice:

1. Harvest barberries after the first autumn frosts.
2. Remove any stems from the berries.
3. Add 250ml water to 1 kg of berries.
4. Add 1 kg of sugar to each liter of water.
5. Bring to the boil in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Let stand for a day.
7. Pour the cold juice through a sieve into bottles.
8. Let the juice stand so that impurities sink to the bottom of the bottle.

How do I dry the barberry fruits?

You can dry the barberry fruitsin the oven. Such use of the crop is recommended for two reasons. On the one hand, the dried barberry fruit no longer tastes so sour. On the other hand, the dry fruits can be stored for longer. How to dry the barberry fruits:

1. Line the baking tray with paper and spread the berries on it.
2. Dry berries in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius.
3. Place a towel in the opening so that the oven stays slightly open.
4. Take the berries out of the oven after a few hours.

Tip

Enrich rice dishes or muesli

You can use the fruits of barberry to refine rice dishes or salads. There are many dishes in Persian cuisine that use dried barberry berries. But you can also eat dried barberry fruits as an ingredient in morning muesli or in a bowl.