Hawthorn- heart healthy dessert

Fall is marching on and all the berries and fruits are already gathered. Only a few apples left and of course hawthorn berries (fruits). Hawthorn berries have many medicinal and dessert cooking uses, but  I enjoy hawthorn berries in evening herbal teas together with chamomile, mint and linden, and hawthorn marmalade on toast.

When we moved to our current  property I planned to plant at least three hawthorn trees, I was thinking of Mayhaw or some of the Chinese cultivars. What a pleasant surprise I had  discovering that our property already had three different cultivars of hawthorns. They were probably planted by previous owners or even some early settlers many years ago (hawthorns can live up to 400 years).

The three trees are all well established and one of them seems to be quite old. The trees were in excellent shape, just needed some trimming. They are a bit too tall for easy berry collecting, but I left them as they are.

Hawthorn trees or tall bushes belong to genus Crataegus of the family Rosaceae. It is widespread throughout the northern hemisphere. There are many species of hawthorn in China, Russia, Europe and the US. Through cross pollination different species can easily give rise to hybrids.  The thorny tree can reach 20 feet in height. It blossoms with small white flowers in the spring and has bright red (some cultivars have yellow) berries at the end of summer or in September, depending on the species and geographical location. 

The berries look like very small apples and their flesh has a somewhat apple like texture. These berries have a bitter-sweet taste. Birds, animals and wasps eat these berries.

Hawthorn has a long history as a medicinal plant. Hawthorn leaves, flowers and berries were used for centuries in China as medicine for heart illnesses, high blood pressure, stomach problems  and sleep remedies. In Russia and Europe hawthorn berries are used in evening calming teas and hawthorn extracts for treating heart conditions. Native American tribes used the berries of American native hawthorns to treat upset stomach, bladder disorders, and as a general health booster. Right now in the US, hawthorn extract is used to help to treat heart conditions and high blood pressure. Hawthorns are widely used as ornamental trees and as a thorny hedge. In China the berries are also used for different desserts. In the southern US Mayhaw is used to make marmalade. The fruits of these trees are high in pectin, different vitamins and flavonoids that help to improve blood circulation.

I just  use dried hawthorn berries in calming evening teas together with chamomile, mint, linden and lemon balm.  It gives the tea the most wonderful aroma.

Three distinct species of hawthorn are growing on our property. One specie reminds me of Mayhaw. It has a particular leaves shape and arrangement which is characteristic to Mayhow. However there is a serious difference from Mayhaw in the time of fruit ripening. Mayhaw is native to the southeastern US, and its ripening time is at the beginning of summer. In the north, Mayhaw is ripening approximately in the beginning of August. The hawthorn I have is ripening in the middle of September. I think maybe I have a Mayhaw hybrid. 

The other hawthorn looks like Mayhaw by the leaves, but has yellow berries with an orange blush.  

The  third hawthorn looks like a typical North American native specie. The American hawthorn has smaller fruit, but it is more flavorful when eaten fresh than my other hawthorn berries.

Of course, yellow jackets made their nest right under the most prolific tree, and are munching on the fallen fruit. Their presence makes it hard to collect the berries. There is a high competition right now for the berries between the beasts and me.

I noticed that all my hawthorns are not bothered by diseases. There are some black spots on the leaves, but the trees seem to be doing fine despite of it. The berries have blemishes, but mostly on the skin. The flesh seems to be unaffected. All of the hawthorns grow and fruit well without my significant interference, which makes them good plants for organic gardening (no need for pesticides). I am planning to add a Chinese cultivar to my hawthorn collection and I hope that it will be as carefree as my three present hawthorns. Mayhaw hawthorn, in its natural habitat, grows in moist sites. My American hawthorn also grows well on a moist site which is also temporarily waterlogged in the spring. According to different information sources, Chinese cultivars prefer well drained soils. If one does not grow hawthorn trees for commercial purposes, four mature trees would be plenty for one family use.

Berries of all my hawthorns have similar aroma and taste when dried or made into marmalade. The yellow variety has a very mild flavor compared to the red varieties. Berries of my Mayhaw-looking hawthorns have more pectin than the North American one.

I dry the berries in the oven at 120 F temperature by just placing them on a cookie sheet. When the berries are completely dry they can be stored in paper bags. I use 5 dried berries per cup of herbal tea. If one has a heart condition one should consult with one's physician before using hawthorn because this plant can interfere with some heart medicines. Also one should not overindulge on hawthorns or one’s stomach may get upset.

Hawthorn marmalade

1.Place hawthorn berries in a pan and add water just enough to cover the berries. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the berries until they become soft , it might take an hour.

2. Take the berries and water out of the pan and push them through a strainer with a pestle. You will have a puree. The seeds and some hard parts of the peel will be in the strainer.

3. Put the puree back in a pan and add sugar in a proportion of 1 part of puree to 1/2 part of sugar by weight. I also put in lemon juice, approximately 2  tbsp per pound of puree.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until it becomes very jelly like, approximately another 10-20 minutes.

Hawthorn berries are high in pectin so you will not need to add commercially produced pectin.

The marmalade has the consistency of an apple marmalade and a unique taste and aroma.

When I cook hawthorn fruits the whole house is filled with a remarkably wonderful smell.