Juniper Infused Honey

Learn how to make Juniper-Infused Honey – a wonderful addition to tea or bread with it’s citrus spicy aroma and flavor.

Juniper Berries are an amazing item to have in your kitchen — not only for this Juniper-Infused Honey, but also to make your own Juniper Healing Salve, and use in various recipes.

Juniper berries have a spicy aroma and tart flavor — they are loaded with beneficial plant compounds such as vitamin C and many other antioxidants.

Ironically enough, juniper berries aren’t actually [really even] berries — they are aromatic cones from conifer trees.  They can be used in recipes as well as skincare items – in this case, we are going to use juniper berries to make an herbal honey infusion.

Benefits of Juniper Berries

• Juniper berries are great for supporting a healthy heart
• Juniper berries have a high monoterpenes content – they are high in limonene, camphor and beta-pinene, all of which have antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties.
• Juniper berries support healthy digestion.

Herbal honey infusions are quite simple – they don’t require a specific “recipe” – it’s more of an art than a science. You can experience with different ingredients and ratios – in fact, lavender, pinon pine, chamomile and calendula are all wonderful herbs to infuse in honey.

However, this honey is going to be infused with Juniper Berries – for a citrusy spice flavor.

I’ve always followed the ratio of 1 part herbal material to 1.5 parts honey (in this case, 1 cup berries and needles to 1.5 cups honey) – but you can adjust the ratio to your liking.

The most important part of any herbal infusion is ensuring that the honey completely covers your herbal material.

Juniper Infused Honey – Tips 

Keep the following tips in mind when making Juniper-infused honey:

• Rinse your juniper berries and ensure they are fully dry prior to infusing them with honey. Water on the juniper berries will heighten the chance that the honey infusion will grow mold.
• Fresh or dried juniper berries can be used.
• Infuse the juniper berries and juniper needles, however, you’ll want to discard the branch.
• Best to use a funnel and a strainer once the infusion is transferred to a jar.
• Find ways to incorporate every bit of leftover honey – add it to your sourdough bread for extra flavor or drizzle it in your tea.

If fresh juniper berries are not available in your area, you can pick up dried juniper berries online via Amazon.

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Juniper-Infused Honey

Learn how to make Juniper-Infused Honey - a wonderful addition to tea or bread with it's citrus spicy aroma and flavor.

Course DIY

Keyword juniper, juniper berries, juniper honey

Servings 1 pint

Author Sheryl

Equipment

• 1 pint canning jar, lid and ring
• crockpot

Ingredients

• 1 C juniper berries, needles
• 1.5 C raw honey

Instructions

• Ensure your juniper berries have been rinsed and properly dried
• Add the juniper berries and needles to the mason jar.
• Pour in your honey and cover the berries entirely. You may need to add more honey to coat the herbs entirely.
• Cover the jar with a canning lid and ring. Place the jar in a crockpot and fill the crockpot with water - not so high that the jar floats or tips and gets water into it.
• Set to low and keep in the crockpot for 8-12 hours. You want to ensure that the crockpot is warm, not hot (so aim for low heat, not high). The goal is to warm the honey to infuse with the berries and needles, but never so hot that it bubbles. Adjust, as needed, to ensure that the honey stays between 100-125 degrees F.
• Strain the honey through a fine mesh strainer while it's still warm.
• Store the herb infused honey in a dark, cool place in a tightly sealed jar to help it stay fresh.

Looking for more ways to use juniper? Try out this fragrant Juniper Salve!