The rowan berries of Maxomorra will immediately bring you into a late summer mood. Already want to look around or even start on your autumn outfit? >> you can shop them here
The cheerful red berries attract everyone's attention. They are not only delicious for the birds in the garden, but did you know that they are also given special powers?
Spellbinding powers
Sorbus Aucuparia - if you say it a bit mysteriously it immediately sounds like an incantatory spell and at witches' parties it is always useful to look up the Latin names of the most common trees, shrubs, herbs (herbal tea!).
The Latin word Sorbus means fruit and "aucupor" bird-catching because the Romans used the orange berries of this tree as bait. Thrush means hopping bird and rowan is derived from the Sanskrit word 'runa' which means magician.
In England this tree was also called witchwood, because it was believed that it provided protection against witches.
Magic wand
So make sure you have a Rowan wand. According to insider information about wands: Rowan has always been popular for wands because it has a reputation for being more protective than other woods. It produces strong protective spells that are difficult to break. A Rowan wand is rarely, if ever, used for evil deeds. These wands prefer an owner who is down-to-earth and honest, but don't let this reputation for virtue fool you - these wands are often superior and regularly beat other wands in a duel.
String a chain
A fun activity for toddlers and older children is to string a rowan berry necklace or make a rowan berry spiral.
Of course you hang the chain around. The spiral can be placed in front of the window or above your bed. It protects you from all those things that keep you awake as a child.
And are you tired of it? Hang the chain in the garden in the winter, as decoration, or just as food for the birds. Of course, make sure they can't eat the cord!
Rowanberry jelly
The red - ripe - berries are not poisonous. That was thought in the past, but they can simply be processed into jam, compote or jelly.
I found a nice recipe for you:
Homemade rowan jelly is crystal clear, deep tea-red in colour and with a fresh sweet flavour that contains an attractive bitterness. The longer the jelly is left - not months but years - the fuller the flavour. I have tasted jelly that is at least 4 or 5 years old and it was of a higher order.
- 1.8 kg bunches of rowan berries
- organic apple juice
- 1.2 kg granulated sugar [EDIT: don't want to use sugar? Then there is jelly based on Agar Agar. You sweeten your jam/jelly with e.g. stevia or Erythritol. Keep in mind that sugar ensures preservation and that you can now only keep the jam/jelly for a week or two.]
Preparation
Wash the berries, remove them from the bunches and cook them together with 2 dl water in a pan with a tight-fitting lid for 20-25 minutes on a fairly low heat. Crush the cooked berries with a vegetable masher in the pan. Transfer the berry pulp with the adhering liquid to a piece of damp cheesecloth, tie it closed and let the berry pulp drain for 12-24 hours hanging over a large bowl without wringing.
You will get about 6 dl of crystal clear juice. Add an equal amount of organic apple juice to it. Or make your own apple juice by cooking 1 kg of cut unpeeled sour apples (windfall apples) in 1 litre of water until done and drain the apples and cooking liquid in a sieve lined with damp cheesecloth.
Bring the sugar and 1.2 litres of juice mixture to the boil in a large pan, stirring constantly, and reduce over a medium heat for 20 minutes, skimming regularly; with home-made apple juice, which contains a lot of pectin, the juice mixture only needs to reduce over a high heat for 5 minutes after skimming.
Pour the hot jelly into clean jars, seal them and turn them upside down for 10 minutes before turning them upright again. The jelly should not be too stiff after it has cooled completely.
If you wring out the rowan berries in the cloth after draining, you will obtain another 3 1/2 dl of juice, which is less clear but can be used for a second batch of jelly.
Would you like to learn more about rowan berries and their medicinal properties, or even more fun craft projects and delicious recipes?
