Simply put: they are plants whose unfertilized seeds are exposed and can be seen with the naked eye, hence "gymnosperm" (γυμνός meaning "naked"); angiosperms, on the other hand, contain the ovules (the proper term for unfertilized seeds) within the plant's ovaries, hence the name (αγγείον meaning "vessel"). Cones might seem like they contain the seeds, but these are actually exposed when the cones have matured. Another detail is that taxonomy is inherently generalized, so some plants break those posited boundaries by all means. Gymnosperms are gymnosperms because they are genetically related, and their main branches exhibit the typical phenotypical characteristics of a gymnosperm, ergo even if some of them *don't* do so, they are still gymnosperms. QED
After reading about it I guess that gymnosperms develop as a naked seed that is then enveloped in the fleshy outer layer but they never have flowers, but that's just a guess.
The difference is what covers the seeds. In an angiosperm, the seeds are protected by the ovary. Your Juniper berries ARE seeds with a protective covering, but that covering isn't an ovary, so it's not a berry.
I think the real question in the video is: Why don't Gymnosperm "fruits" count as fruits? Basically it has to do with what type of cell develops into the "fruit". Ovary cells make fruit while leaf cells make fleshy cones. The main distinguishing feature of Gymnosperms is that they don't make ovaries and thus don't make true fruit. For culinary purposes, it doesn't make any real difference. It matters for scientists.
@@Konarcoffee I take it this isn't correct? 'Cause I was about to walk away believing I was enlightened here... (limited enlightenment, not sure I'm even working on the big 'E' atm)
@@ssatvaNo, it's correct. A juniper berry is biologically (in a cellular sense) more closely related to a pine cone. Pine cones aren't scientifically classified as fruit. However, juniper berries are fleshy and tasty for the same reason true fruits are (mostly: attract seed dispersing species / provide some nutrients for fallen seeds). Juniper berries meet the culinary and everyday language definition of fruit. It's mostly scientists using fruit in a technical textbook sense that would make this distinction (which is fair enough in that context).
Important maybe to distinguish ovary from ovule. gymnosperms do have ovules but they are part of the actual seed while the ovule is destroyed in angiosperm fertilization.
The reason the juniper still fits within the gymnosperm category, like yew berries, despite being closed, is because the juniper berry is formed when the tiny juniper cones close up and become fleshy, rather than open up like the cones of many other gymnosperms. So initially, the seeds are exposed in a cone like other trees, but they later close up and hide the seeds in the proto-berry
And more importantly because it is descended directly from other gymnosperms and not from angiosperms, and its not different enough from other gymnosperms to start being it's own group - like angiosperms are. It could have evolved to not be naked at all ever and still be a gymnosperm to most scientists.
Gymnosperms are close relatives to flowering plants. They cannot make flowers (what fruits come from). They make cones. Most cones don't look fleshy and fruity like these... but some really look like fruits! We know they aren't fruits for many reasons that are hard to see, the most important being that they didn't come from flowers or develop after being fertilized. They just, pop up fully fleshy and formed like that, waiting for pollen to go inside them and MAYBE make a seed.
I wonder if the fleshy cones of some gymnosperms like that are mimics of the more recently evolved angiosperms, and are trying to copy their extremely successful dispersal strategies.
@@milescrockett646 totally! Well, indirectly. they can't see what angiosperms are up to, but they can interact with Animals that coevolved with their favorite fruit to eat them for sustenance. gymnosperms have some evolutionary pressure to meet these dispersing animals, like birds, halfway and give them a sweet fruit-like treat in exchange for seed dispersal.
@@yes12337 i add some when heating up for eating ,i looked up recipies for sauerkraut and they recommend it during fermentation , along with bay leaf and caraway seeds
my family's recipe is more of a "big handful" amount of juniper berries, but we love the aroma! crunching them whole when they're cooked is good but definitely powerful
Probably the easiest way to think about gymnosperms is that they are a group of plants whose evolution diverged from angiosperms a long time ago when they developed flowers. Then, when humans eventually showed up, they noticed that some seeds had flesh and some did not and that this tended to correlate with those plants that flowered, hence the names. However, since some angiosperms can lack flesh and some gymnosperms can have flesh, the meaning of the names can be safely ignored by the layman. As such, saying that what you've been eating is not actually a fruit may be technically true, if you strictly apply a definition that requires a fruit to be formed from the bud of a flower, but for common usage I'm sticking with calling them fruit.
angiosperms diverged from gymnosperms during the late jurassic - early cretaceous though the earliest fossil record for flowers is about 135 million years ago. before that all known plants were either gymnosperms, Cycads, or Ferns.
Yeah. I think that's a good explanation. A different branch on the evolutionary tree. Loosely, Angiosperms, which are now the largest group, and to the layman, the flowering plants. Flowers are needed to produce fruits. However juniper berries are an example of convergent evolution. In history, when one group branches off and does something different, adapts to it's environment and then produces very similar structures to another evolutionary branch.
lmao what evolution? Take Cambrian explosion for example, From 50 to 80 percent of the animal phyla known to have existed at any time in Earth’s history appeared within no more than a few million years of one another, as the Cambrian geological era began. Of the 182 animal skeletal designs theoretically permitted by the laws of physics, 146 appear in the Cambrian explosion fossils. The Cambrian explosion marks the first appearance of animals with skeletons, bilateral symmetry, appendages, brains, eyes, and digestive tracts that include mouths and anuses. Virtually every eye design that has ever existed appears simultaneously in the Cambrian explosion. The moment oxygen levels in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans permit the existence of Cambrian animals, they suddenly appear. These and many more happened in a geological instant, no evolution. Evolution is nonsensical. Information is the basis of all life, information doesn't magically progress to a higher state. It degrades just like everything materialistic in the universe. Which is exactly what information theory states. The universe is government by a pervasive law of decay like we see in the second law of thermodynamics. There is still the nonsensical logistics and probability issues. Rationality does not come from irrationality. Naturalists ignore how the universe is governed and objective reasoning and science to pretend the theory works. It's essentially pseudo science, the flat earth of modern science. It's a god of the gaps as one famous biologist once said.
In Norway it's mainly used to add flavour to moose or reindeer stew. Root vegetables, onions and chopped up meat (not to big and not too small chunks) in a creamy brown sauce seasoned with salt, black pepper, ground up juniper berries and maybe some charlotte onions. A dollop of lingonberry jam and some sheets of Norwegian flatbread on the side. Absolutely delicious. (For Americans, Norwegian flatbread is not unlike matzo, only thinner - a bit of parallel evolution there.) You can add mushrooms to the stew too if you like, or - if you're a vegetarian - substitute mushrooms for the meat. Regular button mushrooms are fine (fresh, not that nasty canned stuff!!!) but if you can find fresh chanterelles your in Food Heaven!
I think a more interesting thing about juniper berries is that Eastern Red Cedar is actually a juniper and they make better tasting juniper berries than what is typically harvested and sold as juniper berries. My husband harvested over a pound of them last year from our cedar trees and our best use of them other than putting them in soup stock as it simmers is a "rub" where we grind them with brown sugar, salt, black pepper and coriander seeds. It's pretty amazing on salmon and pork.
I think I kind of get it. Within the plant kingdom there is a branch of species that produce flowers, the angiosperms, and true fruits are a part of their reproductive process. There is also a separate branch of the plant kingdom, the gymnosperms, which do not produce flowers, and reproduce differently using cones rather than fruit. The confusion comes because some gymnosperms have independently evolved "cones" that are very similar to fruits in structure and appearance. They aren't fruits, but look similar and serve a similar purpose. It's a bit like how birds have evolved wings, and also bats have independently evolved wings, but bats are not birds.
@@AlastairjCarruthers dinosaurs and pterosaurs are both avimetatarsalian archosaurs, bats are mammals. Angiosperms and gymnosperms are both vascular plants.
@@stevendorries That's a bit unnecessarily specific I think. The basic principle is sound with my example, and a layperson is more likely to understand an example that uses two extant animals that they're probably somewhat familiar with, rather than two extinct animals that they're likely to know less well.
It's 2023 and Darwinian evolution is still not a functional nor worked out theory. No primary evidence(no speciation in the fossil record, no transitional dna), no primary mechanism(no way to produce new communicative information, only mutate aka degrade pre-existing information), it's not even falsifiable(all results explainable and not reproducible) so really shouldn't even be called a scientific theory. It fits the criteria for being defined as mythology. It failed Darwins own predictions. It defies entropy and information theory, creating information in a higher state than it previously was rather than degrading. It doesn't work and never has. The whole thing is almost entirely speculation and conjecture across the board. It's frankly nonsense. It's pretending rationality can come from irrationality which is the definition of magic it's more egregious than any god of the gaps argument could ever be because at least a god means there was intelligence a mind behind it.
love the unexpected joy watching him squish the little "fruits" he finds that are small and fragile enough to be held between two fingers brings me, the intentions are so pure and hes so invested in what contents it has and what it can tell him, especially if hes sorta unfamiliar/knows only parts are good so he gives it like a very cautionary yet entirely irresistible lick, like he thinks/knows he cant eat it but both he and us MUST know at least a little, feels so universal squeeze tiny squishy thing...on my hand now.....must..must try....just a little.......... _little tiny bit_
Here in Germany, juniper berries are usually used as a spice to flavour stews, or to give flavour to things, that you can, like pickles. Also for roasts, sauerkraut and many more.
For whatever reason, I added some juniper berries to a béchamel I was making, which I used on... wow I can't remember, but it was something where the sauce was a strong flavor component, it wasn't a cheese sauce. The results were surprisingly good, like, people were asking for the secret good. I just added a few berries as soon as I started adding milk, so it had time to steep but not as much time to toast. I need to ask folks what I put it on! I think it was vegetables, might have been roasted asparagus...
My grandpa lives in Bend Oregon, going to visit him always had a unique smell in the air, and I have heard this is the juniper that grows there naturally. I know there is a Juniper park in Bend, there was a joke when I was a kid I asked to go to Jupiter Park because I had misheard it. I brined my own ham once, (I know you are a vegetarian and wouldn't be interested in that) and the brine included dried juniper berries and it came out tasting like the most delicious bacon I had ever tasted
I only know juniper berries from a videogame (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) and I've wandered what they taste like for the last 12 years. Your descriptions are so detailed that I almost feel I tried them.
Try tasting a vodka and a gin side by side and you'll see. If you don't live in the tropics there's probably some type of juniper growing as an ornamental somewhere close to you. Just make sure it isn't a yew.
I harvest Juniperus virginiana (eastern/red juniper) berries and I stew them into sauces for meat generally. I made a really nice wild sumac and juniper bbq sauce.
J. virginiana is the principal native species where I grew up in Illinois and in northern Florida where I lived for a while. I’ve never tried the berries though I assumed they were edible.
Gymnosperms are generally older from an evolutionary perspective and primarily consist of conifers, cycads, and other non-flowering plants. Their seeds are not encased in fruit flesh; rather, they are often exposed, as seen on the scales of pine cones. These plants tend to be hardier, well-adapted to harsh environmental conditions, and have relatively simple reproductive systems. Angiosperms, on the other hand, are flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed within a fruit. The fruits serve various purposes, including seed dispersal by attracting animals. Angiosperms have a more complex reproductive system, often involving specialized structures like flowers, and are generally more adaptable to diverse environmental conditions.
Regarding uses other than meat, I love it in Sauerkraut. The bitter-y resin-y flavour is really only one of a few spices that manage to compete against the astringency of Sauerkraut.
Fruit are the swollen ovaries of the female flower of angiosperms.the pulp of the fruit surrounds the seeds or ovule. Gymnosperms produce seeds on different structures like cones and the seed isn't surrounded by pulp. The stuff surrounding the juniper seed are actually modified leaves that are swollen.
I like how you try breaking down flavors. It’s so hard to do well. Your perfume-like breakdown of top-notes vs middle effect vs lingering sensations are really valuable.
My favourtie way to cook with the dried juniper berries is as a roasted cauliflower soup - you roast some caulifower and potatoes coated in some ground up juniper berries and then blend that with some hot stock
I find that a useful vegetarian application is to slow cook a pot of pinto beans with fresh sage leaves and a small amount of juniper berries. A nice southwest flavor profile 😊
Juniper jam with dried sour cherries is excellent on venison or duck breast. Never had it in a sweet preparation so really curious to see what the community dreams up.
Also very important to note that there are toxic species of juniper, like Juniperus sabina. The common juniper is also known for its extraordinarily expansive range, being the most wildely distributed species of tree as far as I know. Enjoyed your video, cheers
I think the term naked seeds refers to where the ovules develop rather than the fact that you can see the seeds when they are ripe on the outside. Its been a few years since I took a biology class but I remember it was something to do with the fact that in angiosperms the seed begins within a ovary? while on gymnosperms it occurs without that.
Gymnosperms fruiting body equivalent is the cone; think like the cones on a pine tree. The juniper berry is also a cone, where the scales are tiny and tightly held together such that it froms a berry-skin-like structure.
As you noticed, Latwerge isn't really jam, it's a category of thickened sirups. Most common is Latwerge made from plums, but there's also ones made with elderberries, rosehips or extract from fir shoots for example. Latwerge is used in different ways: as a spread, a sugar alternative or medicinally as a home remedy for all sorts of things. In Europe you can find Latwerge both in grocery stores but also in drugstores. Further, it's something almost only older people know and buy in my experience. The younger generations don't really know what it is and how to use it.
Ashe Junipers grow everywhere here in central TX and are a source of food for lots of animals. During prohibition bootleggers made hooch from juniper berries. The flavor is quite nice but the skins have a lot of that resin flavor so when we eat them I usually just suck the pulp out and spit out the skin.
In the Netherlands they are most commonly used in stews (boar works best) and infusion teas, besides to drinks like jenever and gin of course. In a stew you only need a few of these, so people have a small jar of dried juniper berries for longevity.
I brewed a gruit with the same kind of juniper you have here. It gave it an almost overpowering lemon and/ or pine flavor. I used 50mL of the dried berry. Definitely going to knock that down a bit on my next batch.
actual juniper jam (not syrup) goes well with quite a lot of different cheeses in my experience, especially goat's cheese. i've also had some luck using a dry marinade with quite a lot of juniper on a few different meat alternatives that are good to roast and/or sear. i also personally find it goes well with pink peppercorns in pretty much any way you'd apply those (many great salads with that combo)
All I know about gymnosperms is that they have a dominant diploid sporophyte phase and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. What the heck is so confusing about that?
Nakladany hermelín from the Czech Republic is my favorite simple juniper recipe. Often talked down because it’s process isn’t seen as food safe I just say it should only be done in the Fall somewhere cold enough you could harvest these yourself with an open window keeping it by the window in this climate. If you see a wheel of vegan brie try turning it into this and you will probably love it if you’re not afraid of some marinated onions and garlic that have been sitting in a sealed jar with nut cheese, juniper berries, and paprika (just some of the classic additions) for at least 2 weeks. There’s always the option of choosing a more refrigerable oil than olive (like sunflower or grapeseed) and putting this in the refrigerator instead. It was a life changing experience for me it’s one of the peaks of excitement I get about Fall coming up now.
Have you ever tried wild raspberry anywhere in the Caribbean. There’s an invasive Asian wild raspberry type that was transplanted, grew well, and became invasive much to the betterment of the island of Puerto Rico up in the Yunque rainforest and the central mountain range. I grew up eating them. Puerto Rico’s sort premiere shave ice flavor is based off of it but is usually a fake syrup. The berries up in the mountains are some of the best I’ve ever eaten. They’re a little scarce and I hope people propagate them more than over-harvest them. If you haven’t covered that anywhere you should maybe you have eaten the same fruit elsewhere
Interesting, thank you. Where I like it: 3 dried Juniper Berries, 2 Cloves, 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of Black Pepper and Fennel seeds, and a dash of water in a Pyrex measuring jug. Uwave for 30 sec and now crush/mix the softened mixture, then add a tin of Plum tomatoes - Uwave for about 1 1/2 Mins, now add Honey to taste and Uwave until Toms are cooked. Delicious hot or cold with fish, bacon, all potatoes and bread types, and sausages - the list goes on.
My go-to use of juniper berries is in a brine solution together with rosemary and some gin. Soak some pork chops in the solution overnight, saute them briefly in a skillet or dutch oven for a bit of browning then transfer to a hot oven until the pork is cooked through. The brine solution prevents the pork from drying out too fast and leaves them tender and flavorful. It's the only way I prepare pork chops now.
Its stranger than that, the exterior skin is actually merged cones more akin to how brussel sprouts grow (thin layers) and the "pulp" is actually more akin to how passaflora membranes surround the seeds. So in reality its more accurate to call them fleshy cones than how fruits grow. Otherwise we'd see something like an orange be peeled and different layers would have different peels
No such thing as evolution. It's looking at objective facts and forming a conjecture and speculation that fits the evolution narrative while not being functional nor actually observed nor able to be predicted. Evolution is pseudo science.
in germany whole (so they are easy to pick out), dried juniper berries, along with a some cloves and bay leaves, are essential seasonings added to sauerkraut. traditionally a winter dish, you simmer some cured or smoked meat and/or sausages in, and serve with buttery mashed potatos and spicy mustard. absolute comfort food!
As wordy as this is, this is the most concise answer I can give. Gymnosperm plants produce "fruit" by enclosing their seeds in a modified version of the ovary which originally produced the seeds. Gymnosperm do not enclose their seeds with a modified ovary. However, some gymnosperm evolved in ways that resemble the fruit of angiosperms by using similar tissue but not tissue derived from the ovary. A corollary to this in animals would be the "thumbs" of raccoons which work like ape/human thumbs but derive from completely different bone structures.
You were on the right track. The reason those gymnosperms don't have a "naked seed" is because of convergent evolution. They are just a branch of evolution from earlier gymnosperms that ALSO took advantage of animal seed dispersal by way of sugary sweet covers. The "common" fruits just branch out from the "angiosperm" ancestor in the big tree of life (phylogeny)
It also makes sense evolutionarily to evolve to have a fruit like cone in a world that is predominantly dominated by angiosperms which fruit in order to be transferred by animals, gymnosperms already occupy their form of wind pollinated niche but there is an biological incentive to disperse seeds via animals since competition in that area is high and has constantly available niches to fill, by producing edible "cones" that appear like fruits, they have a higher chance of spreading.
Evolution is pseudo science. It's 2023 and Darwinian evolution is still not a functional nor worked out theory. No primary evidence(no speciation in the fossil record, no transitional dna), no primary mechanism(no way to produce new communicative information, only mutate aka degrade pre-existing information), it's not even falsifiable(all results explainable and not reproducible) so really shouldn't even be called a scientific theory. It fits the criteria for being defined as mythology. It failed Darwins own predictions. It defies entropy and information theory, creating information in a higher state than it previously was rather than degrading. It doesn't work and never has. The whole thing is almost entirely speculation and conjecture across the board. It's frankly nonsense. It's pretending rationality can come from irrationality which is the definition of magic it's more egregious than any god of the gaps argument could ever be because at least a god means there was intelligence a mind behind it.
Gymnosperm and Angiosperm are both part of the group of flowering plants (Phanerogamia).The difference is in the anatomy of the seed and how it is formed, there are three ways... First there are the monocots and the dicots, this has to do with either having one or two lobes that form the first leaves. If you ever planted seeds you'll know that the first leaves look very different from the phenotype. In most garden plants these are two first leaves, but in grasses for example there is only one. These two are often refered to as the angiosperm. Then there is a third way where the embryo is basically not growing out from lobes but rather straight up grows completely formed. If you ever planted pines you'll notice that they come out of the ground as miniature trees. I hope this helps. This is not made up, I do have a degree in horticulture.
That resiny aspect is what imparts the flavor to gin (and to meat, when you cook with it). Not especially great for raw eating (and you're right, I would NOT down a handful of those, it would make you sick), but REALLY good at imparting that flavor to other things. It's used in German cooking quite a bit.
A gymnosperm is a plant which has bypassed the flowering process via the Creutzfeldt-Rosenstein process, by which the developing flowerbuds convert to the "berries" which are indeed, naked seeds. There, I made something up
Juniper berries were used in an ancient Roman recipe for venison, part of the recipe called for the meat to be soaked in the berries (and other stuff) for 3 days to get rid of the gamey taste. I think the recipe called for caraway seed too.
Gymnosperms as everyone knows differs from angiosperms in the way the seeds are placed in a structure that doesn't enclosed them once they mature and are ready for dispersal. As we know that the Juniper trees belong to the family Cupressaceae (Cypress family), they have either scale-like or needle like or both types of leaves. Also their cones (equivalent to flowers in angiosperms) are like those of the other members of the Cypress family. Here's a catch; while cypresses and other plants of the Cupressaceae family rely on the dropping dispersal and the scaly cones burst open when matured, Junipers chose to climb an evolutionary step. They produce the cones just similar to cypresses initially but as the pollination occurs and the cones grow in size and the seeds develop, the scales of the cones don't seperate and they get fused with each other giving the cone the look of a fruit. Despite the fused scales, horn-like spikes can be clearly seen on the cones of most of the Juniper species. It also picks up nice attractive colours like purple, dark red, blue or black mimicing other Fruiting plants (angiosperms) to attract animals including humans to feed on them. The insides of the scales also turn into fleshy substance that is very aromatic and is packed with nutritional values. The seeds are as hard as stone and have a very long dormancy. The acid present in the gut of birds and other animals which eat them help soften the outer coat of the seed. This evolutionary step must have been taken by Junipers assuming that as Junipers grow in very arid and harsh conditions, their density is a very low and hence finding just the perfect spot for the seed to start growing is difficult. The animals provide excellent places for these seeds to grow by dropping them off via their poop in the areas where they relax providing them enough moisture and protection during germination.
I remember picking these on the rocky cliffs back home (southern shore of Newfoundland). They tasted like medicine...pine flavoured. The leaves on the branches look different though. My friend and I would pretend they were medicine and pop the juice in our mouths. The taste isn't something to write home about. Yes, kids are free to explore the hills, cliffs, woods and beaches without parents hovering. Not sure how i survived my childhood honestly lol
my familiy and many others here in germany actually prefer the juniper-flowers or "Holunder-Blüten" for syrp, makes for a great refreshing lemonade with something lemony.
for another great (vegatarian) application of juniper berries, try looking up austrian rahmsuppe. you just need juniper berries, sour cream, laurel leaf, caraway seed, salt and some dark rye bread to put inside.
I use dried common juniper in soup. My own recipe: 3 chicken thighs (can be frozen), bone-in, with skin on. 3 cup water 1/2 TBsp (or 1 1/2 tsp) salt 8-10 juniper berries, crushed 12 peppercorns, cracked 3-4 inches fresh *mild* rosemary 2-3 carrot, peeled and large chunks 1 stalk celery, large chunks (or really large if you want to pick it out before serving) 1 medium onion, peeled and in one piece to remove later 1 bay leaf Pressure cook frozen chicken for 35 minutes. (I use an instant pot) you can scale all the ingredients up or down, anything from 2 to 6 thighs before it gets difficult to make in an instant pot.
Juniper works well in Alcohol (sugar wash - vodka/moonshine), a stack of berries in 40-50% left for a week a good measure and then add Tonic Water - wonderful stuff! perhaps cucumber or some lemon?
The main diference in gyosperm is that they don't produce a flower, instead they produce a seed in the branches of the plant and wait till it gets polinized, when the seed gets polinized it starts to ripe, producing pulp around the seed in some cases
A gymnosperm is a plant that works out a lot. Thujone is also found in Artemisia absinthium, which is used to make absinthe. People used to think it was a hallucinogen, but it's not (nor does it have the same effect as THC). It is toxic in large enough doses, though.
Juniper is sometimes added to warm sauerkraut while it's being cooked, alongside a bay leaf, peppercorns, caraway, cloves, and allspice Another thing where it's great is in dishes that use red wine, I have a really nice lentil and vegetable soup recipe with it
We learn about this in elementary school and I used to be pretty good at it (for someone who doesnt study at all, I'm just autistic) but I could never really understand the difference between those either. The obvious ones yes, but ones that look like berries are complicated.
When it comes to syrups in carbonated water, you should always add some acidity. I usually find 2-3 lemons added to the simmering pot per litre of syrup is about right. Juice them if you want the lemon fragrence to be less present, or zest them and add in the rind if you want it more of a core flavor in the syrup. Lime could also be good with the resinous vibe juniper has.
The jam you had sounds very much like what is made in the Baltics also from green pinecones or from dandelion flowers, both called pinecone or dandelion honey respectively. The pinecone one is used as medicine, generally for cough. It does not contain actual honey, but instead is either product boiled quite a bit with water and sugar, until it makes a thick, viscous liquid.
The explanation is very simple: Thera are extremely exceptions to everything, and while gimnosperms usually have their seeds naked, sometimes a nearby part of the plant grows fleshy se they can get what angiosperms normally have, dispersion by animals.
Our yew bushes are loaded with red berries this year and I've been munching on them like crazy. They taste amazing and even better than I remember when I was a bairn. I s'pose they're not 'fruits' either....
Angiosperm seeds develop in the female part of the plant known as the ovary. But angiosperm flowers also have male anatomy that makes pollen. Gymnosperm seeds form in a similar but differently named anatomy but it's specialized to be unisex. Hence pollen cones and seed cones being completely different.
Absolute simplest answer I can find: Gymnosperms are a category of plant (not of fruit) that do not develop ovaries. So whatever seed they have develops first and then whatever part enclosed the seed develops afterwards. Fruit usually develop the other way around, with the ovary being a solid object that develops seeds and flesh inside of it.
I have dried Juniper Berries in my kitchen. They seem to last forever They're totally accessible from the usual spice companies. They're used in marinades and stock pots and stuff. I've never heard of it being used for sweets.
I’ve noticed you haven’t done Agarita (Mahonia trifoliata) berries yet. Or maybe I’ve missed it. You’ve covered much of what Central Texas has to offer, Juniperus ashei, Mexican Plum, Texas Persimmon, and I think Agarita should be next. And Mustang Grapes. And Snake-apple (Ibervillea lindheimeri)
Great video! Makes you think. If gymnosperms typically don’t develop in the ovaries of flowers and are not surrounded by a protective fruit the juniper must be some sort of exception like the platypus is for mammals.
What's a gymnosperm?
like firs and conifers. angiosperms can have flowers.
A gymnosperm is a plant.
Simply put: they are plants whose unfertilized seeds are exposed and can be seen with the naked eye, hence "gymnosperm" (γυμνός meaning "naked"); angiosperms, on the other hand, contain the ovules (the proper term for unfertilized seeds) within the plant's ovaries, hence the name (αγγείον meaning "vessel"). Cones might seem like they contain the seeds, but these are actually exposed when the cones have matured.
Another detail is that taxonomy is inherently generalized, so some plants break those posited boundaries by all means. Gymnosperms are gymnosperms because they are genetically related, and their main branches exhibit the typical phenotypical characteristics of a gymnosperm, ergo even if some of them *don't* do so, they are still gymnosperms. QED
After reading about it I guess that gymnosperms develop as a naked seed that is then enveloped in the fleshy outer layer but they never have flowers, but that's just a guess.
The difference is what covers the seeds. In an angiosperm, the seeds are protected by the ovary. Your Juniper berries ARE seeds with a protective covering, but that covering isn't an ovary, so it's not a berry.
I think the real question in the video is: Why don't Gymnosperm "fruits" count as fruits?
Basically it has to do with what type of cell develops into the "fruit". Ovary cells make fruit while leaf cells make fleshy cones. The main distinguishing feature of Gymnosperms is that they don't make ovaries and thus don't make true fruit.
For culinary purposes, it doesn't make any real difference. It matters for scientists.
This is my favorite made up explanation of what it is
@@Konarcoffee I take it this isn't correct? 'Cause I was about to walk away believing I was enlightened here... (limited enlightenment, not sure I'm even working on the big 'E' atm)
same@@ssatva
@@ssatvaNo, it's correct. A juniper berry is biologically (in a cellular sense) more closely related to a pine cone. Pine cones aren't scientifically classified as fruit. However, juniper berries are fleshy and tasty for the same reason true fruits are (mostly: attract seed dispersing species / provide some nutrients for fallen seeds).
Juniper berries meet the culinary and everyday language definition of fruit. It's mostly scientists using fruit in a technical textbook sense that would make this distinction (which is fair enough in that context).
Important maybe to distinguish ovary from ovule. gymnosperms do have ovules but they are part of the actual seed while the ovule is destroyed in angiosperm fertilization.
Gymnosperm, the sportiest most muscular of all sperms.
What he said is, the Chaddest of Chad sperms.
Lmfao
I have a different association. In Ukrainian, there word гімно ('himno', alternatively romanized 'gimno') means 'shit'.
😂 wait what nooo... 'gym no sperm' means going to gym make your sperm away.
😂😂😂😂😂
The reason the juniper still fits within the gymnosperm category, like yew berries, despite being closed, is because the juniper berry is formed when the tiny juniper cones close up and become fleshy, rather than open up like the cones of many other gymnosperms. So initially, the seeds are exposed in a cone like other trees, but they later close up and hide the seeds in the proto-berry
Do not eat yew berries! The flesh is harmless but if you bite the seed - THE SEED IS POISONOUS ☠️ So not worth the risk
And more importantly because it is descended directly from other gymnosperms and not from angiosperms, and its not different enough from other gymnosperms to start being it's own group - like angiosperms are. It could have evolved to not be naked at all ever and still be a gymnosperm to most scientists.
Get Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't on to help you understand, he makes everything so easy (and hilarious).
Oh yes! Great idea!
Now this would be a crossover of the decade
I would love this
love that guy
a psylocibin special episode tasting the weirdest fruit
Gymnosperms are close relatives to flowering plants. They cannot make flowers (what fruits come from). They make cones. Most cones don't look fleshy and fruity like these... but some really look like fruits! We know they aren't fruits for many reasons that are hard to see, the most important being that they didn't come from flowers or develop after being fertilized. They just, pop up fully fleshy and formed like that, waiting for pollen to go inside them and MAYBE make a seed.
I wonder if the fleshy cones of some gymnosperms like that are mimics of the more recently evolved angiosperms, and are trying to copy their extremely successful dispersal strategies.
@@milescrockett646 totally! Well, indirectly. they can't see what angiosperms are up to, but they can interact with Animals that coevolved with their favorite fruit to eat them for sustenance. gymnosperms have some evolutionary pressure to meet these dispersing animals, like birds, halfway and give them a sweet fruit-like treat in exchange for seed dispersal.
Juniper Berries are used in sourkraut/Sauerkraut here in germany ,1-2 berries per person/portion is enough for a suttle flavor
It should be called sweetkraut. As its sweet and crunchy. I wish someone had told me that growing up.
In Poland we add it to hunters stew, which is made of sauerkraut. Do you use it when fermenting the cabbage or boiling it? That's interesting
@@yes12337 i add some when heating up for eating ,i looked up recipies for sauerkraut and they recommend it during fermentation , along with bay leaf and caraway seeds
my family's recipe is more of a "big handful" amount of juniper berries, but we love the aroma! crunching them whole when they're cooked is good but definitely powerful
Yes! About two berries per serving is good. Also add peppercorns: about the same.
Probably the easiest way to think about gymnosperms is that they are a group of plants whose evolution diverged from angiosperms a long time ago when they developed flowers. Then, when humans eventually showed up, they noticed that some seeds had flesh and some did not and that this tended to correlate with those plants that flowered, hence the names. However, since some angiosperms can lack flesh and some gymnosperms can have flesh, the meaning of the names can be safely ignored by the layman. As such, saying that what you've been eating is not actually a fruit may be technically true, if you strictly apply a definition that requires a fruit to be formed from the bud of a flower, but for common usage I'm sticking with calling them fruit.
I wholly agree with this assessment
I consider any edible thing like this a fruit, like I consider the mushroom a fruit of the mycelium
angiosperms diverged from gymnosperms during the late jurassic - early cretaceous though the earliest fossil record for flowers is about 135 million years ago. before that all known plants were either gymnosperms, Cycads, or Ferns.
Yeah. I think that's a good explanation. A different branch on the evolutionary tree. Loosely, Angiosperms, which are now the largest group, and to the layman, the flowering plants. Flowers are needed to produce fruits.
However juniper berries are an example of convergent evolution.
In history, when one group branches off and does something different, adapts to it's environment and then produces very similar structures to another evolutionary branch.
lmao what evolution? Take Cambrian explosion for example, From 50 to 80 percent of the animal phyla known to have existed at any time in Earth’s history appeared within no more than a few million years of one another, as the Cambrian geological era began.
Of the 182 animal skeletal designs theoretically permitted by the laws of physics, 146 appear in the Cambrian explosion fossils.
The Cambrian explosion marks the first appearance of animals with skeletons, bilateral symmetry, appendages, brains, eyes, and digestive tracts that include mouths and anuses.
Virtually every eye design that has ever existed appears simultaneously in the Cambrian explosion.
The moment oxygen levels in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans permit the existence of Cambrian animals, they suddenly appear.
These and many more happened in a geological instant, no evolution. Evolution is nonsensical. Information is the basis of all life, information doesn't magically progress to a higher state. It degrades just like everything materialistic in the universe. Which is exactly what information theory states. The universe is government by a pervasive law of decay like we see in the second law of thermodynamics. There is still the nonsensical logistics and probability issues. Rationality does not come from irrationality. Naturalists ignore how the universe is governed and objective reasoning and science to pretend the theory works. It's essentially pseudo science, the flat earth of modern science. It's a god of the gaps as one famous biologist once said.
i used juniper berries in making a citrus chai and it turned out really good. that piny resiny orange flavour is just perfect for such an application.
Juniper, garlic/shallot and rosemary is a pretty standard flavoring with venison.
So you are definitely in the right direction with roasted veg.
Let's be real... venison is just a fancy name for Bambi.. after you cook him.
@@wamlartmuse17and?
@@davidkomen5283 poor poor Bambi.
I was just trying to be funny. I personally don't like deer meat, but I'd eat it if I was starving.
@@wamlartmuse17 Bambi makes good jerky but otherwise is mid unless some master chef works with it.
juniper is also great with mushrooms, creamy sauces, stews, dishes with red wine or cognac, also rose pepper or green pepper
Gin.
In Norway it's mainly used to add flavour to moose or reindeer stew. Root vegetables, onions and chopped up meat (not to big and not too small chunks) in a creamy brown sauce seasoned with salt, black pepper, ground up juniper berries and maybe some charlotte onions. A dollop of lingonberry jam and some sheets of Norwegian flatbread on the side. Absolutely delicious. (For Americans, Norwegian flatbread is not unlike matzo, only thinner - a bit of parallel evolution there.)
You can add mushrooms to the stew too if you like, or - if you're a vegetarian - substitute mushrooms for the meat. Regular button mushrooms are fine (fresh, not that nasty canned stuff!!!) but if you can find fresh chanterelles your in Food Heaven!
I think a more interesting thing about juniper berries is that Eastern Red Cedar is actually a juniper and they make better tasting juniper berries than what is typically harvested and sold as juniper berries. My husband harvested over a pound of them last year from our cedar trees and our best use of them other than putting them in soup stock as it simmers is a "rub" where we grind them with brown sugar, salt, black pepper and coriander seeds. It's pretty amazing on salmon and pork.
I grew up in the middle of Illinois and assumed that the J. virginiana berries were edible yet was too scared to try any. My loss.
I think I kind of get it. Within the plant kingdom there is a branch of species that produce flowers, the angiosperms, and true fruits are a part of their reproductive process. There is also a separate branch of the plant kingdom, the gymnosperms, which do not produce flowers, and reproduce differently using cones rather than fruit.
The confusion comes because some gymnosperms have independently evolved "cones" that are very similar to fruits in structure and appearance. They aren't fruits, but look similar and serve a similar purpose.
It's a bit like how birds have evolved wings, and also bats have independently evolved wings, but bats are not birds.
I would say more like how pterosaurs evolved wings/flight and later dinosaurs also evolved similar but distinct wings/flight
@@stevendorries How is that any more accurate?
@@AlastairjCarruthers dinosaurs and pterosaurs are both avimetatarsalian archosaurs, bats are mammals. Angiosperms and gymnosperms are both vascular plants.
@@stevendorries That's a bit unnecessarily specific I think. The basic principle is sound with my example, and a layperson is more likely to understand an example that uses two extant animals that they're probably somewhat familiar with, rather than two extinct animals that they're likely to know less well.
It's 2023 and Darwinian evolution is still not a functional nor worked out theory. No primary evidence(no speciation in the fossil record, no transitional dna), no primary mechanism(no way to produce new communicative information, only mutate aka degrade pre-existing information), it's not even falsifiable(all results explainable and not reproducible) so really shouldn't even be called a scientific theory. It fits the criteria for being defined as mythology. It failed Darwins own predictions. It defies entropy and information theory, creating information in a higher state than it previously was rather than degrading. It doesn't work and never has. The whole thing is almost entirely speculation and conjecture across the board. It's frankly nonsense. It's pretending rationality can come from irrationality which is the definition of magic it's more egregious than any god of the gaps argument could ever be because at least a god means there was intelligence a mind behind it.
As a forager and plant nerd I'm really happy you're starting to do more than just fruit!
Me too!!
love the unexpected joy watching him squish the little "fruits" he finds that are small and fragile enough to be held between two fingers brings me, the intentions are so pure and hes so invested in what contents it has and what it can tell him, especially if hes sorta unfamiliar/knows only parts are good so he gives it like a very cautionary yet entirely irresistible lick, like he thinks/knows he cant eat it but both he and us MUST know at least a little, feels so universal
squeeze tiny squishy thing...on my hand now.....must..must try....just a little.......... _little tiny bit_
Juniper is one of my favorite scent notes for warm weather fragrances, right up there with citruses. It's brisk, refreshing, and cooling to the nose.
Well, for me, it reminds me of wintertime.
Here in Germany, juniper berries are usually used as a spice to flavour stews, or to give flavour to things, that you can, like pickles. Also for roasts, sauerkraut and many more.
For whatever reason, I added some juniper berries to a béchamel I was making, which I used on... wow I can't remember, but it was something where the sauce was a strong flavor component, it wasn't a cheese sauce. The results were surprisingly good, like, people were asking for the secret good. I just added a few berries as soon as I started adding milk, so it had time to steep but not as much time to toast. I need to ask folks what I put it on! I think it was vegetables, might have been roasted asparagus...
My grandpa lives in Bend Oregon, going to visit him always had a unique smell in the air, and I have heard this is the juniper that grows there naturally. I know there is a Juniper park in Bend, there was a joke when I was a kid I asked to go to Jupiter Park because I had misheard it. I brined my own ham once, (I know you are a vegetarian and wouldn't be interested in that) and the brine included dried juniper berries and it came out tasting like the most delicious bacon I had ever tasted
I only know juniper berries from a videogame (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) and I've wandered what they taste like for the last 12 years. Your descriptions are so detailed that I almost feel I tried them.
Try tasting a vodka and a gin side by side and you'll see. If you don't live in the tropics there's probably some type of juniper growing as an ornamental somewhere close to you. Just make sure it isn't a yew.
I harvest Juniperus virginiana (eastern/red juniper) berries and I stew them into sauces for meat generally. I made a really nice wild sumac and juniper bbq sauce.
J. virginiana is the principal native species where I grew up in Illinois and in northern Florida where I lived for a while. I’ve never tried the berries though I assumed they were edible.
I can almost never find sumac that isn't infested with bugs.
@@markiangooley They're delicious and very piney.
@@tiki_trash I hang them to dry outside my garage like garlic and most of the bugs will leave. The remaining ones are just free protein XD
@@samlubbe6032 lol
Gymnosperms are generally older from an evolutionary perspective and primarily consist of conifers, cycads, and other non-flowering plants. Their seeds are not encased in fruit flesh; rather, they are often exposed, as seen on the scales of pine cones. These plants tend to be hardier, well-adapted to harsh environmental conditions, and have relatively simple reproductive systems.
Angiosperms, on the other hand, are flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed within a fruit. The fruits serve various purposes, including seed dispersal by attracting animals. Angiosperms have a more complex reproductive system, often involving specialized structures like flowers, and are generally more adaptable to diverse environmental conditions.
I picked a couple while I was in the woods today. Your description of the taste was spot on. First sweet then fruity then kind of like turpentine
Regarding uses other than meat, I love it in Sauerkraut. The bitter-y resin-y flavour is really only one of a few spices that manage to compete against the astringency of Sauerkraut.
Fruit are the swollen ovaries of the female flower of angiosperms.the pulp of the fruit surrounds the seeds or ovule. Gymnosperms produce seeds on different structures like cones and the seed isn't surrounded by pulp. The stuff surrounding the juniper seed are actually modified leaves that are swollen.
I like how you try breaking down flavors. It’s so hard to do well. Your perfume-like breakdown of top-notes vs middle effect vs lingering sensations are really valuable.
Glad you like them!
My favourtie way to cook with the dried juniper berries is as a roasted cauliflower soup - you roast some caulifower and potatoes coated in some ground up juniper berries and then blend that with some hot stock
I find that a useful vegetarian application is to slow cook a pot of pinto beans with fresh sage leaves and a small amount of juniper berries. A nice southwest flavor profile 😊
Juniper jam with dried sour cherries is excellent on venison or duck breast. Never had it in a sweet preparation so really curious to see what the community dreams up.
Hm... lemme think...lemon sorbet with juniper jam and some gin.
@@aleisterlavey9716 Creative... not something I'll be trying but it's got some curb appeal.
@@mudgetheexpendable well... how about: a cucumber apple salad with various nuts and seeds on juniper jam balsamico sauce served on a cabbage leave
Also very important to note that there are toxic species of juniper, like Juniperus sabina. The common juniper is also known for its extraordinarily expansive range, being the most wildely distributed species of tree as far as I know. Enjoyed your video, cheers
Juniper is used a ton in Scandinavia as a spice dried, its super good in stews! Cream sauces as well really lovely with juniper berries.
I think the term naked seeds refers to where the ovules develop rather than the fact that you can see the seeds when they are ripe on the outside. Its been a few years since I took a biology class but I remember it was something to do with the fact that in angiosperms the seed begins within a ovary? while on gymnosperms it occurs without that.
Gymnosperms fruiting body equivalent is the cone; think like the cones on a pine tree. The juniper berry is also a cone, where the scales are tiny and tightly held together such that it froms a berry-skin-like structure.
You're also the only guy that can make fruits interesting! My nephews love your channel. Especially the banana episodes
As you noticed, Latwerge isn't really jam, it's a category of thickened sirups. Most common is Latwerge made from plums, but there's also ones made with elderberries, rosehips or extract from fir shoots for example. Latwerge is used in different ways: as a spread, a sugar alternative or medicinally as a home remedy for all sorts of things. In Europe you can find Latwerge both in grocery stores but also in drugstores. Further, it's something almost only older people know and buy in my experience. The younger generations don't really know what it is and how to use it.
Sad young people have no interest in their culture and watch cancer like tictok
Another species that I’ve heard is ok fresh is California Juniper.
Thanks for such a thorough review, you put a lot of work into this one!
Ashe Junipers grow everywhere here in central TX and are a source of food for lots of animals. During prohibition bootleggers made hooch from juniper berries. The flavor is quite nice but the skins have a lot of that resin flavor so when we eat them I usually just suck the pulp out and spit out the skin.
Juniper berries will always remind me of the book Hatchet. "No more puke berries". 😂
You are the only stranger that I don’t mind watching you eat. You are very tidy, and we, the audience, appreciate that.
In the Netherlands they are most commonly used in stews (boar works best) and infusion teas, besides to drinks like jenever and gin of course. In a stew you only need a few of these, so people have a small jar of dried juniper berries for longevity.
Lekker!
That dish looked amazing. Totally should've had the beverage and toast/jam all together off cam after the subtle taste test. Perfect meal.
I brewed a gruit with the same kind of juniper you have here. It gave it an almost overpowering lemon and/ or pine flavor. I used 50mL of the dried berry. Definitely going to knock that down a bit on my next batch.
I love all trees.By juniper's hold a special place in my heart because they are very easy to bonsai and they are very forgiving
actual juniper jam (not syrup) goes well with quite a lot of different cheeses in my experience, especially goat's cheese. i've also had some luck using a dry marinade with quite a lot of juniper on a few different meat alternatives that are good to roast and/or sear. i also personally find it goes well with pink peppercorns in pretty much any way you'd apply those (many great salads with that combo)
Oh you dont know how much I was waiting for this video, thank you very much Jared!
All I know about gymnosperms is that they have a dominant diploid sporophyte phase and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. What the heck is so confusing about that?
it all makes sense now 🤔
Same with angiosperms.
I think all vascular plants, even ferns and club mosses, have a dominant sporophyte stage; I don't know about dependent though
Nakladany hermelín from the Czech Republic is my favorite simple juniper recipe. Often talked down because it’s process isn’t seen as food safe I just say it should only be done in the Fall somewhere cold enough you could harvest these yourself with an open window keeping it by the window in this climate. If you see a wheel of vegan brie try turning it into this and you will probably love it if you’re not afraid of some marinated onions and garlic that have been sitting in a sealed jar with nut cheese, juniper berries, and paprika (just some of the classic additions) for at least 2 weeks. There’s always the option of choosing a more refrigerable oil than olive (like sunflower or grapeseed) and putting this in the refrigerator instead. It was a life changing experience for me it’s one of the peaks of excitement I get about Fall coming up now.
Have you ever tried wild raspberry anywhere in the Caribbean. There’s an invasive Asian wild raspberry type that was transplanted, grew well, and became invasive much to the betterment of the island of Puerto Rico up in the Yunque rainforest and the central mountain range. I grew up eating them. Puerto Rico’s sort premiere shave ice flavor is based off of it but is usually a fake syrup. The berries up in the mountains are some of the best I’ve ever eaten. They’re a little scarce and I hope people propagate them more than over-harvest them. If you haven’t covered that anywhere you should maybe you have eaten the same fruit elsewhere
Burnt Juniper berries i believe is called culinary ash, and is also very good.
You have a good presentation style and could talk about anything and make it interesting to watch.
Hi. You should run a control samole of your recipes to compare right the diferences in flavor 👍. Great video as allways.
Interesting, thank you. Where I like it: 3 dried Juniper Berries, 2 Cloves, 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of Black Pepper and Fennel seeds, and a dash of water in a Pyrex measuring jug. Uwave for 30 sec and now crush/mix the softened mixture, then add a tin of Plum tomatoes - Uwave for about 1 1/2 Mins, now add Honey to taste and Uwave until Toms are cooked. Delicious hot or cold with fish, bacon, all potatoes and bread types, and sausages - the list goes on.
You made me laugh out loud....twice! Thanks! I needed that! 😂
My go-to use of juniper berries is in a brine solution together with rosemary and some gin. Soak some pork chops in the solution overnight, saute them briefly in a skillet or dutch oven for a bit of browning then transfer to a hot oven until the pork is cooked through. The brine solution prevents the pork from drying out too fast and leaves them tender and flavorful. It's the only way I prepare pork chops now.
What an episode!!!! Congrats!!!! Keep up the good work, i like you and your videos!😍
Seems like juniper berries are an example of convergent evolution
Its stranger than that, the exterior skin is actually merged cones more akin to how brussel sprouts grow (thin layers) and the "pulp" is actually more akin to how passaflora membranes surround the seeds. So in reality its more accurate to call them fleshy cones than how fruits grow. Otherwise we'd see something like an orange be peeled and different layers would have different peels
No such thing as evolution. It's looking at objective facts and forming a conjecture and speculation that fits the evolution narrative while not being functional nor actually observed nor able to be predicted. Evolution is pseudo science.
Evolution isn't real, quit promoting lies you know nothing about.
Thank you for describing the tastes in detail. It makes me want to try these fruits myself
There are juniper berry tree bushes in my area. I'm going to eat some of them
not all are edible
A very common savory use in germany is to add them while cooking red cabbage, which is a common side dish and very popular around christmas.
in germany whole (so they are easy to pick out), dried juniper berries, along with a some cloves and bay leaves, are essential seasonings added to sauerkraut. traditionally a winter dish, you simmer some cured or smoked meat and/or sausages in, and serve with buttery mashed potatos and spicy mustard. absolute comfort food!
As wordy as this is, this is the most concise answer I can give. Gymnosperm plants produce "fruit" by enclosing their seeds in a modified version of the ovary which originally produced the seeds. Gymnosperm do not enclose their seeds with a modified ovary. However, some gymnosperm evolved in ways that resemble the fruit of angiosperms by using similar tissue but not tissue derived from the ovary. A corollary to this in animals would be the "thumbs" of raccoons which work like ape/human thumbs but derive from completely different bone structures.
You were on the right track. The reason those gymnosperms don't have a "naked seed" is because of convergent evolution. They are just a branch of evolution from earlier gymnosperms that ALSO took advantage of animal seed dispersal by way of sugary sweet covers. The "common" fruits just branch out from the "angiosperm" ancestor in the big tree of life (phylogeny)
It also makes sense evolutionarily to evolve to have a fruit like cone in a world that is predominantly dominated by angiosperms which fruit in order to be transferred by animals, gymnosperms already occupy their form of wind pollinated niche but there is an biological incentive to disperse seeds via animals since competition in that area is high and has constantly available niches to fill, by producing edible "cones" that appear like fruits, they have a higher chance of spreading.
Evolution is pseudo science. It's 2023 and Darwinian evolution is still not a functional nor worked out theory. No primary evidence(no speciation in the fossil record, no transitional dna), no primary mechanism(no way to produce new communicative information, only mutate aka degrade pre-existing information), it's not even falsifiable(all results explainable and not reproducible) so really shouldn't even be called a scientific theory. It fits the criteria for being defined as mythology. It failed Darwins own predictions. It defies entropy and information theory, creating information in a higher state than it previously was rather than degrading. It doesn't work and never has. The whole thing is almost entirely speculation and conjecture across the board. It's frankly nonsense. It's pretending rationality can come from irrationality which is the definition of magic it's more egregious than any god of the gaps argument could ever be because at least a god means there was intelligence a mind behind it.
It’s good to know all these junipers around here in Central Texas are good for something
Juniper is also used to flavor Swedish snus, and it works well with that flavor palette.
Gymnosperm and Angiosperm are both part of the group of flowering plants (Phanerogamia).The difference is in the anatomy of the seed and how it is formed, there are three ways... First there are the monocots and the dicots, this has to do with either having one or two lobes that form the first leaves. If you ever planted seeds you'll know that the first leaves look very different from the phenotype. In most garden plants these are two first leaves, but in grasses for example there is only one. These two are often refered to as the angiosperm. Then there is a third way where the embryo is basically not growing out from lobes but rather straight up grows completely formed. If you ever planted pines you'll notice that they come out of the ground as miniature trees.
I hope this helps. This is not made up, I do have a degree in horticulture.
That resiny aspect is what imparts the flavor to gin (and to meat, when you cook with it). Not especially great for raw eating (and you're right, I would NOT down a handful of those, it would make you sick), but REALLY good at imparting that flavor to other things. It's used in German cooking quite a bit.
A gymnosperm is a plant which has bypassed the flowering process via the Creutzfeldt-Rosenstein process, by which the developing flowerbuds convert to the "berries" which are indeed, naked seeds. There, I made something up
Thank you for making a vegetarian dish with the juniper berries! Gave me some ideas for food to cook myself.
Juniper berries were used in an ancient Roman recipe for venison, part of the recipe called for the meat to be soaked in the berries (and other stuff) for 3 days to get rid of the gamey taste. I think the recipe called for caraway seed too.
Someone was hitting the chapstick a little hard today.
Love your videos.
Thujone has hallucinogenic properties when introduced to primates. Its the thing in absinthe.
Gymnosperms as everyone knows differs from angiosperms in the way the seeds are placed in a structure that doesn't enclosed them once they mature and are ready for dispersal. As we know that the Juniper trees belong to the family Cupressaceae (Cypress family), they have either scale-like or needle like or both types of leaves. Also their cones (equivalent to flowers in angiosperms) are like those of the other members of the Cypress family. Here's a catch; while cypresses and other plants of the Cupressaceae family rely on the dropping dispersal and the scaly cones burst open when matured, Junipers chose to climb an evolutionary step. They produce the cones just similar to cypresses initially but as the pollination occurs and the cones grow in size and the seeds develop, the scales of the cones don't seperate and they get fused with each other giving the cone the look of a fruit. Despite the fused scales, horn-like spikes can be clearly seen on the cones of most of the Juniper species. It also picks up nice attractive colours like purple, dark red, blue or black mimicing other Fruiting plants (angiosperms) to attract animals including humans to feed on them. The insides of the scales also turn into fleshy substance that is very aromatic and is packed with nutritional values. The seeds are as hard as stone and have a very long dormancy. The acid present in the gut of birds and other animals which eat them help soften the outer coat of the seed. This evolutionary step must have been taken by Junipers assuming that as Junipers grow in very arid and harsh conditions, their density is a very low and hence finding just the perfect spot for the seed to start growing is difficult. The animals provide excellent places for these seeds to grow by dropping them off via their poop in the areas where they relax providing them enough moisture and protection during germination.
The juniper berry syrup may be good added to some peppermint tea with honey and lemon.
Gymnosperms are a much older plant clade. They date to the carboniferous, and likely ancestral to angiosperms, a Cretaceous clade.
wouldn't that mean that angiosperms are also technically gymnosperms, in the same sense that cetaceans are mammals?
@@zyklqrswx not a scientist, but as I understand it yes. One does not leave their ancestral clade.
Not cretaceous, angiosperms took off in the middle jurassic(ca.150Mya), but their origin is probably somewhat earlier.
@zyklqrswx yes exactly, or the way mammals are fish
A gymnosperm is just a women's-only gym
That juniper berry veggie roast looks so good
I remember picking these on the rocky cliffs back home (southern shore of Newfoundland). They tasted like medicine...pine flavoured. The leaves on the branches look different though. My friend and I would pretend they were medicine and pop the juice in our mouths. The taste isn't something to write home about.
Yes, kids are free to explore the hills, cliffs, woods and beaches without parents hovering. Not sure how i survived my childhood honestly lol
As if it's healthy to child or parent to have children under constant supervision.
my familiy and many others here in germany actually prefer the juniper-flowers or "Holunder-Blüten" for syrp, makes for a great refreshing lemonade with something lemony.
for another great (vegatarian) application of juniper berries, try looking up austrian rahmsuppe. you just need juniper berries, sour cream, laurel leaf, caraway seed, salt and some dark rye bread to put inside.
I use dried common juniper in soup. My own recipe:
3 chicken thighs (can be frozen), bone-in, with skin on.
3 cup water
1/2 TBsp (or 1 1/2 tsp) salt
8-10 juniper berries, crushed
12 peppercorns, cracked
3-4 inches fresh *mild* rosemary
2-3 carrot, peeled and large chunks
1 stalk celery, large chunks (or really large if you want to pick it out before serving)
1 medium onion, peeled and in one piece to remove later
1 bay leaf
Pressure cook frozen chicken for 35 minutes. (I use an instant pot)
you can scale all the ingredients up or down, anything from 2 to 6 thighs before it gets difficult to make in an instant pot.
Juniper works well in Alcohol (sugar wash - vodka/moonshine), a stack of berries in 40-50% left for a week a good measure and then add Tonic Water - wonderful stuff! perhaps cucumber or some lemon?
The main diference in gyosperm is that they don't produce a flower, instead they produce a seed in the branches of the plant and wait till it gets polinized, when the seed gets polinized it starts to ripe, producing pulp around the seed in some cases
great episode! I was hoping for Ketchup (though probably not as a main ingredient)
A gymnosperm is a plant that works out a lot.
Thujone is also found in Artemisia absinthium, which is used to make absinthe. People used to think it was a hallucinogen, but it's not (nor does it have the same effect as THC). It is toxic in large enough doses, though.
In trace amounts in sage also
Juniper is sometimes added to warm sauerkraut while it's being cooked, alongside a bay leaf, peppercorns, caraway, cloves, and allspice
Another thing where it's great is in dishes that use red wine, I have a really nice lentil and vegetable soup recipe with it
Juniper, pimento, cloves and bay leaf are good buddies hanging out together.
Haven't had sauerkraut in a long time. Maybe when I finally get around to making my own I'll consider putting those spices in.
We learn about this in elementary school and I used to be pretty good at it (for someone who doesnt study at all, I'm just autistic) but I could never really understand the difference between those either. The obvious ones yes, but ones that look like berries are complicated.
When it comes to syrups in carbonated water, you should always add some acidity. I usually find 2-3 lemons added to the simmering pot per litre of syrup is about right. Juice them if you want the lemon fragrence to be less present, or zest them and add in the rind if you want it more of a core flavor in the syrup. Lime could also be good with the resinous vibe juniper has.
Seems like juniper berries are an example of a kind of convergent evolution.
"If if fits I sits" - cat, and/or evolutionary adaptation
also very traditional in german Sauerkraut, not during fermentation, but at cooking recipes to serve
The jam you had sounds very much like what is made in the Baltics also from green pinecones or from dandelion flowers, both called pinecone or dandelion honey respectively. The pinecone one is used as medicine, generally for cough. It does not contain actual honey, but instead is either product boiled quite a bit with water and sugar, until it makes a thick, viscous liquid.
That root hash looks really good.
The explanation is very simple: Thera are extremely exceptions to everything, and while gimnosperms usually have their seeds naked, sometimes a nearby part of the plant grows fleshy se they can get what angiosperms normally have, dispersion by animals.
Our yew bushes are loaded with red berries this year and I've been munching on them like crazy. They taste amazing and even better than I remember when I was a bairn. I s'pose they're not 'fruits' either....
Angiosperm seeds develop in the female part of the plant known as the ovary. But angiosperm flowers also have male anatomy that makes pollen.
Gymnosperm seeds form in a similar but differently named anatomy but it's specialized to be unisex. Hence pollen cones and seed cones being completely different.
The most important thing to remember for gymnoaperms is that they are a completely different lineage of plants than angiosperms
No, I think it's pretty safe to say that angiosperms are nested within the gymnosperm clade.
Absolute simplest answer I can find:
Gymnosperms are a category of plant (not of fruit) that do not develop ovaries. So whatever seed they have develops first and then whatever part enclosed the seed develops afterwards. Fruit usually develop the other way around, with the ovary being a solid object that develops seeds and flesh inside of it.
This is perfect. I got millions of these all around my ranch.
I have dried Juniper Berries in my kitchen. They seem to last forever They're totally accessible from the usual spice companies. They're used in marinades and stock pots and stuff. I've never heard of it being used for sweets.
I’ve noticed you haven’t done Agarita (Mahonia trifoliata) berries yet. Or maybe I’ve missed it. You’ve covered much of what Central Texas has to offer, Juniperus ashei, Mexican Plum, Texas Persimmon, and I think Agarita should be next. And Mustang Grapes. And Snake-apple (Ibervillea lindheimeri)
There are seds in the enable plant flesh then it is a fruit by definition.
Great video! Makes you think. If gymnosperms typically don’t develop in the ovaries of flowers and are not surrounded by a protective fruit the juniper must be some sort of exception like the platypus is for mammals.