Sweet, tart, piquant, pleasantly bitter, and unique – you can find all these flavors in this unusual and delicious Rowan Berry Apple Jam.
Hello, my friends! I hope you are doing well, and you are enjoying all the seasonal produce.
And today I am excited to share with you a recipe for berries that many of you probably did not know that they were edible.
What Are Rowan?
Rowans are shrubs or trees in the genus Sorbus, in the rose family Rosaceae. If you live in North America, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador, you may also hear the name dogberry (which is the specie called American Mountain-ash, it is the same family.) While rowans and mountain-ashes are considered ornamental trees, not everyone knows that the berries are edible!
Rowan Berries
Well, if you google this question, you will find quite a few “no” which is partly true. This statement comes from the fact that when consumed raw, they are not palatable, as well as that in raw state they contain cyanogenic glycosides, which is common in other related plants in the Prunus / Rose family. Glycosides can have an almond flavour compound in bitter almonds. Cooking denaturalizes the glycosides and makes the fruit completely safe to eat.
They are edible raw in small amounts, too. But honestly, I doubt that anyone can eat more than a few raw berries at once. As I said, they are bitter. Depending on the variety of a tree, the bitterness could vary from moderately pleasant to nearly very strong.
The tricky part is to wait as long as possible before picking the berries. While they tend to become red or orange sometime in the mid of August, you should wait at least until September or longer. When ripening, their bitter taste diminishes, as well. Indeed, it is often considered that they are the best just right after the first frost. But you know, you can have a huge competition – birds – so sometimes you simply don’t have a possibility to wait.
Hence, there is a trick to place freshly picked berries in the freezer overnight. This will not completely remove the bitterness, but it will become significantly milder and more pleasant.
Rowan Berry Apple Jam
This jam is super easy to make. Perhaps, the hardest part would be harvesting the Rowan berries. But considering that we will not need a lot, that should be a fast process, too.
The combination of apples and rowan berries is perfect because apples offset the bitterness of the berries. The flavour is hard to describe because it is complex. I would say that bitter orange marmalade would be the closest comparison. You can enjoy this recipe as every other type of jam; personally, I think it would perfectly pair with soft cheeses.
More Rowan Berry Recipes
I hope you like this Rowan Berry Apple Jam, and you will give it a try soon. If you try it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share your photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Rowan Berry Apple Jam
5
minutes50
minutes8
hoursabout 3
cupsSweet, tart, piquant, pleasantly bitter, and unique – you can find all these flavors in this unusual and delicious Rowan Berry Apple Jam.
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Ingredients
3 medium apples (about 1 lb. or 450 gr.), cubed – sweet & tart type of apples such as Honeycrisp, Gala, or Ambrosia)
about 2/3 (75 gr.) rowan berries – or more, if desired a more pronounced flavour
2/3 to 1 cup (130 to 200 gr.) granulated sugar
Directions
- First you need to pick rowan berries; cut clusters of berries from trees and knock to remove insects, then wash and pick off stems. When foraging, always go for the bright red or orange berries as these are ripe and will come away from the little twigs easily. Also, collect them in the forested areas far from roads.
- Freeze the berries overnight or up to 24 hours. This step will reduce the bitterness as well as neutralize harmful parasorbic acid and the cyanogenic glycoside.
- Place the frozen rowan berries, starting with 2/3 cup (no need to thaw them) and apples in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add 1-2 tbsp. (15-30 ml.) water and the sugar, starting with the 2/3 cup (130 gr.)
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and allow to gently simmer, stirring often, for about 45-60 minutes, until the berries and apples are soft and the jam has thickened, stirring often. During the cooking, help the berries burst by gently smashing them with a wooden spoon, spatula, or potato masher. Also, try and add the remaining sugar, if necessary, as well as throw a few extra rowan berries, if you prefer a more pronounced bitter flavour.
- Remove the jam from the heat and let cool. You can leave jam as it is or pulse it slightly with an immersion blender, for a smoother texture.
- Keep the jam in a container or jar refrigerated, for 2-3 weeks. Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
This is a beautiful jam and I would love to have a taste to try it. :) I’ve never heard of Rowan berries, I’m going to look them up. :)
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Thank you Marcelle!
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I’ve never eaten these, but have styled with them because of their bright, vibrant colour! Next time, I’ll have to do double duty and whip up a batch of this jam. I bet the apple really rounds out the bitterness of the berries. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving :)
I always thought Rowan berries were poisonous to humans and only birds could eat them. Well, that’s what I was told anyway. So you’ve woken me up to the fact that’s not true! So you cook them and the toxic part of the acid disappears. As well as the bitterness. I learn something new every day. Thanks Ben! Now I look on Rowan berries in a whole new light!
Ben, I like you’re taking a classic European berry and introducing it to your readers. We have three huge rowan berry trees just out front. Our first frost is coming any day, after that we’ll be picking. Although they make a great jam for serving with wild game, ours is going into making some Rönnbärsvin (Rowan berry wine). But if we have any leftover berries, we’ll give your rowan berry apple jam a go. It looks yummy.
Interesting! I’m not familiar with Rowan berries, but I can see how that would combine well with apples. Are they kinda like cranberries in tartness? Either way, I’m all about homemade jam, and a piece of toast or English muffin topped with homemade jam is how I like to roll! Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!
I’ve never even heard of rowan berries! I just googled pictures of the trees and you’re right–I think I am familiar with rowan berry trees. I just never knew you could eat their fruit! Now I want to get my hands on some so I can try your jam. It sounds delicious! Happy Thanksgiving, Ben!