Sorbus aucuparia, rowan or mountain ash (jarebika in Croatian) is a tree with a long history in European folklore and mythology. It was believed to have magical powers and protect against evil spirits; it was also called "traveller's tree" because it was said to prevent travellers from getting lost on their journey. In Norse mythology, it was said to have helped god Thor save himself from drowning in a running river. It was considered a sacred tree in Celtic traditions, where it was, amongst other things, a symbol of death and rebirth.
Rowan can be found in cooler climate and mountain forests of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is one of the winter foods for some bird species. It has been used by humans too, as a medicinal plant as well as a culinary delicacy. If you ever roamed cooler temperate forests of Europe or some parts of Asia, you might have noticed these beautiful trees that have bunches of small red fruits hanging from their branches from late summer till after the first frosts. They naturally occur in the forests, but are often planted near houses as well. In Europe, rowan berries have traditionally been used mostly to make jams and compotes that are usually served with savoury dishes, fermented into a wine called diodgriafel or pickled in vinegar.
Rowan berries are not edible raw and can even be poisonous for humans if consumed raw in higher quantities because of their parasorbic acid content. To make them perfectly safe for eating, we need to cook or (freeze and) ferment them. This kind of processing converts parasorbic acid into sorbic acid which is benign to human body and is actually used as a preservative in food industry.
If you are not very keen on bitter foods, you might want to skip this whole rowan berry culinary experience. Most of rowan varieties give really bitter fruits, and although the bitterness level reduces a bit after the frost, they still taste pretty bitter and intense. If, however, you like to enjoy some bitter notes in your sweet or savoury meals, this could indeed be a true culinary delicacy. Intense as they are, you will only need a small amount of rowan berries to enrich your food experience. I like to make only a jar or two of rowan berry jam or jelly in the autumn and they will last for a pretty long time since you really need just a little bit at a time.
/rowanberry jelly/
Put rowan berries into a pot and pour cold pressed apple juice over them, a bit more than you need to cover all the berries. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes over a low heat. Let it cool down and strain through a kitchen cloth. If the cloth is fine enough, the liquid will come out translucent and bright red in colour (even though the cooked berries often look completely orange). Add some lime juice and coconut sugar to taste. If you want to keep the translucent red jelly look, you can use light agave syrup instead of coconut sugar. Add enough agar to thicken the liquid (anything between one and two teaspoons of agar flakes per 250 ml liquid is ok, depending on how thick you want it to be) and put it back to heat. Let it simmer while stirring until all the agar is dissolved. Let it cool down just a bit before pouring it into the jar(s) that you previously warmed up in hot water.
/apple and rowanberry jam/
Put 1/2 cup rowan berries and 2 cups chopped apples in a pot. Pour just enough water to cover the bottom and let it simmer on low heat until the fruits soften. Process the softened fruits a bit in a food processor and put them back to the pot. Add 2/3 cup coconut blossom sugar, 1/4 tsp ground vanilla and 1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon and cook on low heat for 15 minutes (stir regularly). Put the jam in clean heated jars; for a longer shelf-life, you can also put the filled and loosely closed jars in an oven on 80 °C for around five minutes and then seal them properly.
You can find a recipe for a creamy almond dessert with rowanberry jelly [here].
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