How to Make Bayberry Juice at Home, and How Long It Keeps

Bayberries ripen fast and don't keep. Whole berries last two or three days in the fridge at most, yet in picking season it's easy to come home with a big box of them. One of the best things to do with the ones you can't finish is turn them into a pot of juice.

On one of the hottest days last season, George and his family were handed a glass of a friend's homemade bayberry juice topped up with soft drink, and it brought them right back to life (that story is here). This post skips the story and sticks to the practical side: how to make it, store it and drink it.

Pick your berries

Juice doesn't need the prettiest fruit. Fully ripe, dark berries that feel a little soft give the most juice and the most sweetness. Just leave out any that are split and leaking, have white mould, or smell sour or boozy.

Washing: stems off, soaking optional

Pinch off the little stem and any leaves at the top of each berry.

In China, people often soak bayberries in salt water to draw out tiny grubs. As we explained in How to Choose, Wash and Store Bayberries, the fly behind those grubs isn't found in Australia, so soaking isn't necessary. If you like to soak them anyway, ten minutes or so in lightly salted water is fine. Then rinse well and drain.

Bayberries have no skin, so handle them gently and don't rub.

Method 1: Simmered juice (the classic, and it keeps best)

Roughly: 500 g bayberries, 1 litre of water and 50 to 80 g of rock sugar. Everyone likes a different balance of sweet and sour, so start with less sugar and add more after tasting.

1. Put the bayberries and water in a pot and bring to the boil.
2. Turn it down and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, pressing the berries gently with the back of a spoon. The water will turn a deep purple-red.
3. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves, then turn off the heat.
4. Once it's cool, strain it through a fine sieve or muslin to remove the seeds and pulp.

Don't throw out the cooked berries. Spooned into a bowl with a little of the liquid and chilled, they make a simple dessert.

Method 2: Pressed juice (freshest flavour, drink it the same day)

If you'd rather not cook, you can press them. Put the washed, drained berries in a large bowl, crush them one by one with a spoon or potato masher, then tip them into muslin and squeeze out the juice. The seeds are big and hard, so we wouldn't put them straight into a juicer or blender.

Pressed juice is strong and fairly tart. Add a little sugar or honey and top it up with cooled boiled water. You won't get much, but the colour and aroma are at their best.

Bayberry juice stains, especially clothes and wooden chopping boards. An apron and a glass or stainless steel bowl will save you some scrubbing.

How long does it keep?

These are conservative guidelines, based on what we found when we looked into it. When in doubt, drink it sooner:

• Pressed (raw) juice: best the same day. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers and finish within a day or two.
• Simmered juice: once cool, pour into a clean glass bottle that's been rinsed with boiling water, seal and refrigerate. Drink within three days.
• Frozen: pour into ice cube trays, freeze until solid, then bag the cubes. Use within about a month. Thaw in the fridge, and don't refreeze once thawed.

If it smells boozy, tastes fizzy or sour in a way it didn't before, or anything is growing on top, throw it out.

One more tip: before the season ends, freeze some whole bayberries (wash, dry, spread out to freeze, then bag). When you want juice, put them straight into the pot without thawing, and you can have a batch in the middle of winter.

How to drink it

• Chilled: well-chilled simmered juice is lovely on its own.
• With sparkling water: fill a glass with ice, pour in half a glass of juice and top up with sparkling or soda water. Our friend used lemonade, which is sweeter; unsweetened sparkling water is more refreshing.
• Bayberry ice cubes: drop a couple of frozen juice cubes into water or sparkling water and watch the colour spread as they melt. Kids love it.

One last thing

This year's bayberries are still green on the trees. Going by last season, they should start turning dark from mid to late December, and picking runs for about a month. When the time comes, take a box home, eat some on the day, and turn the rest into a pot of bayberry juice.

If you'd like to hear as soon as picking opens, you can leave your email here.

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