On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 786

acitrusaroma,andtheotherwithanunusual
scentsaidtoresembleamixtureofmeat,fish,
andcoriander.
Juniper Berries Juniper berries are not
leaves,buttheiressenceisthearomaofpine
needles,soIincludethemhere,alongwiththe
observation that pine and other evergreen
needles are often used as flavorings. The
Chinesesteamfishoverpineneedles,andthe
original flavoring for salt-cured salmon
(gravlax) was probably pine needles rather
thandill.Pineynessisalsooneelementinthe
aromasofmanyherbsandspices(seecharts,
pp.392,393).
Thereareabout10speciesofJuniperus,a
distantrelativeofthepine,allnativetothe
northernhemisphere.Theymakesmallconelikereproductivestructures,aboutathirdof
aninchor10mmacross,butthescales
remainfleshyandcoalescetoforma“berry”
thatsurroundstheseeds.Theberriestake


fromonetothreeyearstomature,during
whichtheyturnfromgreentopurplishblack.
Whenimmature,theiraromaisdominatedby
theterpenepinene;whenmature,theycarrya
mixofpine,green-fresh,andcitrusnotes.
Aftertwoyearsinaspicebottlethereisvery
littlearomaleft:sojuniperberriesarebest
whenforagedandfresh.Theyaremuchused
innorthernEuropeandScandinaviatoflavor

meats,especiallygame,andcabbagedishes.
Juniperisthedistinguishingflavoringin,and
gaveginitsname(originallyDutchgenever).
Lemongrass Lemongrass is one of a small
groupofaromaticspeciesinthegrassfamily.
Cymbopogoncitratusaccumulatesthelemony
terpene citral (a mixture of two compounds,
neral and geranial), as well as flowery
geraniolandlinalool,inspecialoilcellsinthe
middle of its leaves. It is a native of
seasonally dry southern Asia, including the
foothillsoftheHimalayas,andisimportantin