The market · Fruit · Northern and Central Europe

Sea buckthorn

Small, bright orange berries from a thorny coastal shrub — fiercely sour, with a tropical, passion-fruit taste and an oily richness from the pulp.

fiercely sour · passion fruit-like · musky

What to do with it

Ibu Sari's Beef rendangSea buckthorn would cut through its richnessAna Etxarri's Pil pilSea buckthorn would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's SuyaSea buckthorn would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's Rendang, the Lagos waySea buckthorn would cut through its richness

Goes with

honeyvenisonwhite chocolatecrème fraîche

Knowing it

Where to buy
Foraged on dunes and coasts, with gloves — the thorns are serious. Frozen berries and juice from Nordic, Baltic and Russian shops.
Worth knowing
Picking berry by berry bursts them: cut whole fruiting twigs, freeze them, and knock the frozen berries off. Press for juice and sweeten it — it takes a lot of sugar — for curd, granita or a glaze for game.

More fruit, in season with it

at its peakFruitApplescrisp, tartsoursweet4 classicsFruitBlackberriesjammy, sweet, tartsourNot cooked here yetFruitElderberriestart, earthy, wineyNot cooked here yetlast weeksFruitFigshoneyed, jammysweetNot cooked here yet