John Myers
In culinary terms, “sea buckthorn” is normally understood to mean orange-red fruits that you do not eat raw, but mainly as juice, and also as sweets, tea, jam, mush or oil. In the first variant, the sea buckthorn fruits are processed particularly little. A big advantage. Sea buckthorn is considered to be particularly healthy because it contains 265 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams when pressed into pure juice. On the other hand, if it is exposed to heat during further processing, the vitamin C content drops. Berries are healthy when eaten raw, but at the same time, the taste of sea buckthorn is very sour. Juice, which you can use in many ways, is therefore popular. If sea buckthorn juice tastes too sour on its own, you can mix it with water in a ratio of 1:6. It is also a good addition to tea or other juices by stirring it into the drink along with a little honey. Sea buckthorn also contains vitamin B12 – but not enough to cover all your needs. Our expert will tell you how you can prevent a vitamin B12 deficiency with a vegan diet.
Sea buckthorn tea, liqueur, schnapps and jam
Sea buckthorn can also be enjoyed as a tea. There are numerous ready-made mixtures available on the market, but you can also make sea buckthorn tea yourself. All you have to do is pour hot water over dried sea buckthorn berries and let them steep. The tea tastes slightly sour on its own and can be refined with dried lemon or orange peel or herbs. At the same time, the fruits do not necessarily have to be good for your health. There is sea buckthorn liqueur that you can combine with Prosecco, for example, or use to refine vanilla ice cream. You can also buy sea buckthorn schnapps – or process the fruit into a spread. Because it is also suitable for that. The best way to do this is to try our recipe for sea buckthorn jam. Our sea buckthorn cake also tastes delicious, for which you can also prepare a spread yourself from the berries.
Sea buckthorn oil: two variants
Oil is also made from sea buckthorn. The berry provides two different types of oil that are used both in the kitchen and in the cosmetics industry. The pulp of the sea buckthorn berry serves as the basis for a red or orange aromatic pulp oil, which is mainly used for various recipes. It remains as a residue in the extraction of sea buckthorn juice. Due to its very intense taste, the pulp oil is usually mixed with another vegetable oil such as rapeseed or olive oil in the kitchen. A few drops on a tablespoon of oil are enough to refine the taste. The so-called kernel oil, on the other hand, is made from the seeds of the sea buckthorn berries and is characterized by a lighter color and a neutral taste. Mostly it is used for the production of cosmetics. It is said to have an anti-inflammatory effect, it is also said to help against dry skin and protect the skin against harmful UV radiation.
