All About Juniper Berry | Know Your Spice Aaraar (Juniperus communis)

Juniper is an evergreen shrub sometimes attaining the height of a small tree up to 3 mtrs with erect trunk and spreading branches, covered with a shreddy bark. The trunk diameter is 25-30 cm.

It produces seed cones that are commonly known as juniper berries. Though the berries’ coloring varies, most are deep blue. Their aroma is often described as woody or spicy.

Leaves are straight and rigid, oval shape, about 6-13 mm long and with sharp prickly points.

It is dioecious plant. The male and female flowers produced in April and May usually born on separate plants, the male flowers in short catkins and female flowers in small cones.

The fleshy berry like fruit is subglobose, bluish black, dark purple when ripe, 10-13 mm in diameter covered with waxy bloom.

The three scales comprising fruit, occasionally gaping and exposing bony seeds, usually three, elongated, ovoid, and embedded in the pulp.

The earliest recorded medicinal use of Juniper Berries occurs in an Egyptian papyrus dating back to 1500 BCE, in a recipe to cure tapeworm infestations.

The berries imported into Egypt may have come from Greece; the Greeks record using juniper berries as a medicine long before mentioning their use in food.

The Greeks used the berries in many of their Olympics events because of their belief that the berries increased physical stamina in athletes.

Juniper berries have a long history of being a part of both culinary and medicinal pursuits.

Originally, alcohol was used as a method of preserving the medicinal effects of botanicals, which had the pleasant side effect of making the booze more palatable.

The use of juniper berries as a medicinal botanical in alcohol began in medieval times where the berries were used to flavor whisky in Scotland.

They also added juniper berries to their food to aid in digestion. The Dutch had a surplus of juniper berries in the 19th century which led to the advent of Gin.

The berries were ground and added to game dishes and cakes in England and Scotland, both for flavoring and to, again, aid digestion.

The earliest medicinal use of juniper berries, though, was in ancient Egypt in 1500 bce to help cure tapeworm. The Romans also used juniper berries to help aid digestion.

The Greeks recorded using juniper berries medicinally long before they used them in food. The major reason for this is because they believed that feeding the berries to athletes gave them good physical stamina.

In Central European folk medicine the berries were considered a cure all for disorders associated with poverty such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and tapeworms.

In North America, tribes native to the Maritime provinces of Canada used Juniper for tuberculosis, ulcers, rheumatism and topically for cuts and wounds.

Juniper is an important spice in many European cuisines, especially in Alpine regions, where juniper grows abundantly.

It is the only example of a spice in the botanic group of the coniferae, and also one of the few examples of spices from cold climatic regions, though the best quality stems from Southern European countries.

• Juniper’s main application is meat; it is felt indispensable for venison and combines well with black pepper, marjoram and laurel berries.
• People use the juniper berry to make medicine. Medicinal preparations include the extract of juniper berry, as well as the essential oil of juniper berry.
• Some people apply juniper directly to the skin for wounds and for pain in joints and muscles. The essential oil of juniper is inhaled to treat bronchitis and numb pain.
• In foods, the juniper berry is often used as a condiment and a flavoring ingredient in gin and bitter preparations.
• In Poland, juniper berries are used to prepare the Kaddikowe pivo, a much appreciated aromatic drink.
• The extract and essential oil are used as a flavoring ingredient in foods and beverages.
• In manufacturing, the juniper oil is used as a fragrance in soaps and cosmetics.
• Juniper extract and juniper oil are used in cosmetics including lipstick, foundation, hair conditioners, bath oils, bubble bath, eye shadow, and many other products.

Juniper berries taste fresh, like pine, and citrusy. They have a touch of both fruitiness and pepperiness. Overall, the flavor of the juniper berry is pungent but pleasantly so.

Like most spices, juniper berries quickly loses its potency once ground, so grind only as much as you need for a given recipe. Stored in an airtight & sealed container, whole berries will last for up to 2 years.

You should store dry juniper berries in a dry & airtight container.

Rosemary is not exactly the same in flavor, but it’s similarly pungent and aromatic. Fresh rosemary would be ideal to mimic the piney flavour.

Juniper Berries are available for purchase from grocery stores. Look for them in the spice section. These spicy, rich berries can be purchased either dried or fresh and whole or crushed.

You can also buy Juniper Berry products & oils online at this link.

The following are health benefits of Juniper Berries, Arar or Aaraar

• Health Benefits of Aaraar as an Antioxidant – Antioxidants are naturally occurring compounds that help protect cells against damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berry against Diabetes – Juniper berries were used in traditional medicine practices to treat diabetes, and recent studies confirm that they may have antidiabetic properties.
• Health Benefits of Aaraar for Heart Health – Juniper berries may promote heart health by improving HDL (good) cholesterol levels and reducing high triglyceride levels, as well as LDL (bad) and total cholesterol.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berry as an Antibacterial & Antifungal Agent – Juniper berry essential oil demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal effects against 16 species of bacteria, yeasts, yeast-like fungi, and dermatophytes, a type of fungus that grows on your skin, causing diseases like ringworm
• Health Benefits of Aaraar as an Anti-inflammatory Agent – Juniper Berry has over 70 compounds in juniper berry essential oil, with the monoterpenes alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, myrcene, limonene, and sabinene making up the majority. All of them add to the oil’s strong antioxidant effects.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berry as an Antimicrobial Agent – Extracts and oils from the Aaraar plant show moderate antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties.
• Health Benefits of Aaraar as a Diuretic – It helps increase urine output, reduces edema, and helps to lower blood pressure.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berry as a Natural Antiseptic – The antibacterial and antifungal qualities of juniper berries have stood the test of time — which is one reason that juniper berry essential oil is often suggested as a natural household cleaning agent.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berries for Skincare – One of the most common uses for juniper berries, specifically in essential oil form, is to treat skin issues like rash or eczema.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berries for Digestion – Juniper berries have long been considered a digestive aid in folk medicine.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berries for Better Sleep – Many natural health practitioners recommend juniper berry essential oil as a relaxant and believe it has a positive impact on brain chemistry, encouraging rest.
• Health Benefits of Juniper Berries against Cancer – in a lab setting, juniper berry essential oil or extract has been found to cause apoptosis (cell death) in a drug-resistant strain of leukemia, HepG2 (liver cancer) cells and p53 (neuroblastoma) cells.