Spicebush! Grows everywhere in New England. Very fragrant! The leaves give off a really warm flavor when used in tea. The berries are a bit too much for me but maybe I don’t know how to use them properly.
EnsoElysium
Kinda looks like spicebush, but I’d wait for a confirm on that
Grand-Article4214
Definitely a spicebush
Believe it or not, you can use it as a spice!
wilder106
Compare with spicebush, Lindera benzoin. You should be able to confirm it by scratching and sniffing a stem, it has a spicy aroma. Small very round buds are next year’s flowers. The berries are powerfully flavored and usually used as seasoning instead of being eaten whole.
JoeMash22
Lindera is a genus of aromatic shrubs, with the most common species being Lindera benzoin, or spicebush. This plant is a deciduous shrub native to eastern North America that features fragrant leaves and twigs, yellow flowers in early spring, and bright red berries on female plants in the fall. It is a valuable host plant for the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar and is often used in woodland gardens, borders, and rain gardens.
sock_candy
Lindera benzoin
biblio76
Chef and Eastern US forager here.
Lindera benzoin! Spiceberry/ spice bush! I know some folks use the leaves but I mostly use the whole fruit, dried. I have air dried them but find it is better to do it in a low oven, or even better a dehydrator.
The taste once dried and ground is out of this world! I’m sure it would be the same if you harvested your own black pepper or allspice, but it tastes like an aromatic version of a mix between the two. They have a really high fat content, like a nut. I do think they lose potency over time. Like any spice, it’s better kept whole.
I use it primarily in baking or anywhere you’d make a “pumpkin spice” or fall spice concoction. Pies, cookies, persimmon pudding. In the cafe where I work we include it in the spice syrup for drinks and it’s so good in warm or cold lattes, tea, cold sodas, milk steamers…everything.
I’ve never served it professionally in food, but I also like it in braised meat dishes like braised pork or sausage with sauerkraut.
9 Comments
Location?
Looks like dogwood to me
Spicebush! Grows everywhere in New England. Very fragrant! The leaves give off a really warm flavor when used in tea. The berries are a bit too much for me but maybe I don’t know how to use them properly.
Kinda looks like spicebush, but I’d wait for a confirm on that
Definitely a spicebush
Believe it or not, you can use it as a spice!
Compare with spicebush, Lindera benzoin. You should be able to confirm it by scratching and sniffing a stem, it has a spicy aroma. Small very round buds are next year’s flowers. The berries are powerfully flavored and usually used as seasoning instead of being eaten whole.
Lindera is a genus of aromatic shrubs, with the most common species being Lindera benzoin, or spicebush. This plant is a deciduous shrub native to eastern North America that features fragrant leaves and twigs, yellow flowers in early spring, and bright red berries on female plants in the fall. It is a valuable host plant for the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar and is often used in woodland gardens, borders, and rain gardens.
Lindera benzoin
Chef and Eastern US forager here.
Lindera benzoin! Spiceberry/ spice bush! I know some folks use the leaves but I mostly use the whole fruit, dried. I have air dried them but find it is better to do it in a low oven, or even better a dehydrator.
The taste once dried and ground is out of this world! I’m sure it would be the same if you harvested your own black pepper or allspice, but it tastes like an aromatic version of a mix between the two. They have a really high fat content, like a nut. I do think they lose potency over time. Like any spice, it’s better kept whole.
I use it primarily in baking or anywhere you’d make a “pumpkin spice” or fall spice concoction. Pies, cookies, persimmon pudding. In the cafe where I work we include it in the spice syrup for drinks and it’s so good in warm or cold lattes, tea, cold sodas, milk steamers…everything.
I’ve never served it professionally in food, but I also like it in braised meat dishes like braised pork or sausage with sauerkraut.