An Uncommon Common Herb

 

The leaves and berries of a female Northern bayberry.

1. Northern Bayberry, Morella pensylvanica (information)

If you've heard about bayberry candles, yes, this is the plant from which they gather the wax. It takes a LOT of berries, though, to get that wax so no, I have not yet attempted it. The lovely thing about bayberry, besides being easy to grow, is that the leaves are also edible. While not at all related to the Mediterranean bay laurel most use for cooking, it does have a similar flavor profile, but a bit more subtle. 

It's also worth noting that this is a dioecious plant meaning the males do not make berries, but the female plants do. Even though I only have one in my yard, a female I specifically picked out as I saw berries on her, she's getting pollinated somewhere. Given these are common, unassuming plants used for landscaping around here, especially around parking lots? Well, may the wind keep blessing her so maybe soon I can try getting some wax.

Local red wine, methley plums, and bayberry leaves.

My first experiments with bayberry weren't too extreme or original. Again, you can use it much like any bay leaf in any situation. The young leaves are tender, the old ones a bit more fibrous, and it is semi-evergreen, but I didn't bother with it in winter. I used it in a soup or two, and more recently, in some basic marinara sauce. For that, I went with the younger leaves so I didn't need to fish them out after as they retained a pleasant texture. Much like with bay laurel, I couldn't tell it was there, but I could tell when it wasn't there. It imparts that same, very subtle flavor at the cost of a few extra leaves.

Plums in red wine over a gentle simmer.

But recently, I came across Forage, Harvest, Feast which put my mind in simpler terms for how to consider bayberry: it's a fresh herb not unlike basil. In other words, those young leaves? Make more use of them. Bay laurel, which I also grow, has tough leaves. It can never perform beyond a flavoring agent, but the tender leaves of bayberry? There's potential there.

One recipe in particular I wanted to try was wine poached beach plums. Unfortunately, my beach plum wasn't fruitful this year, but I had some leftover methley plums from my local U-Pick farm. It only felt fitting to use a local red wine as well. A handful of leaves, left to simmer, and it was a very nice dish! As the author suggested, I kept the leftover syrup, boiled it down to a better consistency, and have used it to mix into some tart iced teas and seltzer mixes.

An attempt at sunflower bayberry pesto.

With the mindset now of being able to consume the young leaves, and knowing the flavor is subtle, my next experiment was to make a pesto. My bayberry needed a trim so the timing was good. Unfortunately, that many leaves together absolutely has a very strong flavor. Ironically, I cut the flavor a bit by adding some basil leaves. Given I was experimenting, I also went non-traditional, but cheap, with sunflower seeds rather than expensive pine nuts. Overall not bad, but not sure I'd make it again.

In the future, this could certainly be good in salad dressings or a light topping, maybe alongside cilantro for tacos, or something of that regard. It could be good as a syrup, maybe with a gin or another strong spirit (as someone who rarely drinks, though, I'm unsure). Or perhaps as a syrup with a lemon seltzer or something to brighten it up. Again, it is a herb, but its taste becomes much more pungent and strong in mass amounts, and unpleasant, unlike basil, which is fair. Bayberry is its own herb, its own flavor, its own contribution - and it should be treated as such.