- Very bitter and sour taste
- Cornelian cherries - versatile in the kitchen and household
- household use
- Cornus fishing
- Liqueur and wine production
Not everyone appreciates the very tart taste of cornelian cherries. Cooked or otherwise prepared, the non-poisonous cornel cherries are an interesting wild fruit. Compared to cherries, cornelian cherries are inconspicuous, but they can be used in many ways in the kitchen and in the home.
The fruits of the cornel have a tart, sour taste and are very healthy
Very bitter and sour taste
Ripe cornel cherries have a very tart and tart flavor that discourages most people from consuming them raw. That's a shame, because the fruits are rich in vitamin C and, like most wild fruits, very healthy.
An exception are the ripe, almost black varieties of the cornelian cherry. The taste of their fruits is similar to that of sour cherries.
In times of need, cornelian cherries were often used as a substitute for other cherries.
Cornelian cherries - versatile in the kitchen and household
If you don't like raw cornel cherries, you can process the fruit in several ways:
- Cook
- juicing
- dry
- insertion
- winemaking
- roast kernels
Slightly tart jam or jelly, juice and compote can be prepared from boiled cornelian cherries with the addition of sugar.
Drying is a lot of work, but you can enjoy the dried cornelian cherries in muesli, fruit salad or game compote all winter long. Or you can do it like the ancient Romans did and soak the cornel cherries in wine vinegar like olives. This aromatic variant goes well with many meat and vegetable dishes.
household use
The roasted kernels develop a pleasant vanilla taste. They used to give the famous Viennese coffee its very special aroma.
The kernels can also be pressed into oil, from which soap can be made. The leftovers from juicing the fruit are very suitable as a natural coloring agent.
Cornus fishing
Even fish like cornel cherries. That is why the pulp was used for fishing in the past.
Liqueur and wine production
The fruits can also be used to make a fruity, slightly sour cornelian pork that goes very well with desserts.
In Austria, the well-known “Dirndlschnaps” is distilled from cornelian cherries.
tips
Cornelian cherry stones are very difficult to release by hand. Experienced kitchen experts therefore cook the fruit with a stone and then strain the mass through a sieve or cloth.