Berries, Booze, Sweets and Syrups

A montage of beer, ice cream, cookies and sauces made from wild edible plants

This is the dessert section, although since my favorite dessert is simply wild berries and cream or berries and a simple syrup, there are more wild berries recipes than anything else on this page. I use syrups to make homemade sodas, sorbets, granitas or to flavor ice creams; they’re also great for glazing meats. You’ll also find dessert recipes for wild nuts and a few other random things, like liqueur recipes.

CREAMY THINGS

wintergreen ice cream recipe

Wintergreen Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

A cooling wintergreen ice cream made with fresh wintergreen berries, studded with bittersweet chocolate chips.

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Mint leaf ice cream recipe

Fresh Mint Ice Cream

A mint ice cream made by steeping fresh mint leaves in cream overnight, giving the ice cream a fuller, more herby mint flavor you can’t get with extract.

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wild ginger ice cream recipe

Wild Ginger Ice Cream

Made with wild ginger, you’ll never taste anything quite like it.

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paw paw ice cream recipe

Paw Paw Ice Cream

Paw paws are native to the Eastern third of the United States, and have a beguiling, sweet aroma and a rich custardy texture. They make a fine ice cream, too.

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black walnut ice cream recipe

Black Walnut Ice Cream

This is the best black walnut ice cream you will ever have. I guarantee it. My recipe has a secret to it. Read on to find out what it is…

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pine nut ice cream recipe

Pine Nut Ice Cream

Almost as good as the black walnut ice cream, pine nut ice cream tastes very Italian. Be sure to toast the pine nuts first.

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Elderberry Ice Cream

I add a little creme fraiche to the ice cream to make it tangy. This recipe works well with salal berries, too.

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Blackberry panna cotta in a ramekin

Blackberry Panna Cotta

Kinda like a dessert version of a blended blackberry yogurt, only creamier and smoother. This works with any bramble fruit

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BOOZE

how to make elderberry wine

How to Make Elderberry Wine

I’ve been making fruit wines for close to 20 years, and while my method is not simple, it produces a superior wine you can even give to snooty wine people!

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A glass mug on a table

Brewing Gruit and Other Herbal Beers

My thoughts on making beer with wild, native ingredients.

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Foam from homemade beer.

Junipine Wild Ale

A wild ale brewed with yeast from juniper berries and pine needles. Wonderful stuff!

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A glass of gose beer.

Making Gose Beer

This is a light, slightly tangy and salty beer that is fantastic in summertime. Like a Michelada without adding anything.

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Fir tip ale

Spruce or Fir Tip Beer

An old style of beer updated. Think of it as a really piney, amber IPA. A really good beer. Juicy, with a long finish.

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Making Mirto, a Sardinian Liqueur

This is a Sardinian liqueur made from myrtle berries. It has a completely unique flavor I can’t get enough of.

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A close up of a bottle of elderberry liqueur

Elderberry Liqueur

A standby in my house. It doubles as after-dinner drink and medicine to boost your immune system. Not bad, eh?

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elderflower liqueur recipe

Elderflower Liqueur

This is a similar liqueur you make with the flowers from an elderberry bush. It does not keep as as the berry liqueur, however.

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pouring elderflower champagne

Elderflower Champagne

A lighter drink from elderflowers. You can make this like a beer, mead or simple cider. I go through all options here.

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FRUITY THINGS

Close up of red huckleberries.

Harvesting the Red Huckleberry

How to find, collect and use the Pacific red huckleberry. Yeah, I’m yer huckleberry…

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chinese plum sauce

Chinese Plum Sauce with Wild Plums

A rich, tangy, spicy-sweet sauce made from wild plums. This is like Chinese BBQ sauce, only better. Slather it on anything, but it goes really well with duck.

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wild cranberry sauce recipe

Wild Cranberry Sauce

Wild cranberry sauce, made with maple syrup. Perfect for the holidays.

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gooseberry sorbet recipe in a parfait glass

Gooseberry Sorbet

A tart yet smooth sorbet that tastes heavily of wild gooseberries.

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Mulberry or Blackberry Sorbet

Mulberries, blackberries, really most berries will work with this recipe. It’s my standard for a sorbet.

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fig jam recipe

Fig Jam with Ouzo

An adult jam, this is very Greek. Figs cooked down and then laced with Greek ouzo. Opa!

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BAKED THINGS

A slice of persimmon bread on a plate with a persimmon nearby

Persimmon Bread with Nuts and Fruit

The best breakfast (or dessert) bread I make. Full of all kinds of awesome things

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acorn cookies make like shortbread

Acorn Maple Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies made with acorn flour. These are full of energy and they store for a long time.

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walnut snowball cookies recipe

Black Walnut Snowball Cookies

A family favorite, this is a Christmas cookie with lots of names. Mexican tea cakes is another one.

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fennel cookies recipe

Anise Cookies

I call these “Bacchus Biscuits,” and they are a fantastic cookie that isn’t too sweet. I make them for on-the-road breakfasts.

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acorn flour cake

Acorn Cake and Acorns Around the World

Like an Italian chestnut cake, only made with acorn flour. It’s a very moist and a little crumbly cake.

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Close up of huckleberry cake in a tart pan.

Huckleberry Cake

A lovely recipe adapted from my friend Heidi Swanson.

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A tray of huckleberry muffins.

Huckleberry Muffins

Tangy and sweet, I love these with blueberries and currants, too.

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Not exactly baked, but these little cakes are great traveling food. Or dessert.

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SYRUPS

mesquite bean syrup

How to Make Mesquite Bean Syrup

One of the most amazing syrups you can make. Mesquite beans are naturally sweet, so you can reduce this to a stable syrup.

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Hollyleaf redberries.

The Great Hollyleaf Redberry Mystery

Yes, I know. Pretty esoteric. But if you live on the West Coast, this is a common July berry. Mix this syrup with buttermilk for a cool sherbert.

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A close up of blackberries

Blackberry Syrup

This is your basic syrup recipe for any bramble fruit. It’s good on pancakes, mixed with seltzer or vodka.

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A bowl of fig syrup

Fig Syrup

It’s a pain in the ass to make, but the resulting syrup is divine.

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Elderberry syrup in a jar, surrounded by ripe elderberries.

How to Make Elderberry Syrup

If you don’t like alcohol, make this syrup as an immune booster. Or dessert.

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Elderflowers in bloom

Elderflower Cordial

Syrup from the flowers of the elderberry. Like a homemade St. Germain base.

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What you need to know about collecting sassafras, and how to make your own root beer syrup base.

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Close up of prickly pears

Prickly Pear Syrup

I love this in margaritas. It’s hot cactus on cactus action…

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spruce tip syrup recipe

Spruce or Fir Tips Syrup

A very delicate syrup good in martinis, or to glaze gamebirds with.

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