It worked! Freezing the entire bag of
astel/paju (sea buckthorn) berries as they had been purchased (
haljal oksal, "on the leafy branch"), resulted in the bright orange
C-vitamiin rich
marjad literally popping off their
asteldega (thorny) branches, as opposed to becoming
lömastatud (smushed). Buying them in this
puhastamata "uncleaned" state meant a better price. 5 € for a 1 kg bag. And cutting the bushes back encourages them even more. They're a tough lot –
kanged – can survive temperatures as low as as - 40°C and are drought (
põud) and salt tolerant. Photo: Riina Kindlam
A
nipp is a
kaval võte, nõks or
trikk, know-how that you might not know until you happen to be lucky enough to read about it or hear a pearl of wisdom. A
pärl was
pistetud (stuck) in my ear at the Kirjandus/tänava (literature street) festival last
laupäev on Koidula Street in Kadri/org by none other that the editor of the New Yorgi
eesti leht Kärt Ulman. She told me to freeze the
astelpaju boughs first. The growers selling the berries at the
gurmee/turg (gourmet market) in the
hoov (courtyard) of Kohvik NOP told me to dry the
astel/paju's leaves and use them for
tee! I had no idea, what a great
nipp! The leaves are narrow and greyish below and reminiscent of those of olive trees. In ancient Greece they were used as
sööt (fodder) for horses to promote weight gain and a shiny coat. Its Latin name "Hippophae" translates to "shiny horse".
"Insider tip (aka a
nipp!) – sea buckthorn leaves: the oft-forgotten side of this the powerful plant. Sea buckthorn leaves are rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols and flavonoids, at the level you'll find in green tea or rooibos. The minerals in the leaves are calcium and magnesium," writes aylabeauty.com.
The Estonian name is deceptive:
astel/paju literally means "thorny willow", yet it belongs to the oleaster family,
hõbe/puulised. It's not native to Estonia or North America, but is grown and harvested throughout. Its native range extends from the Atlantic coasts of Europe across to northwestern Mongolia and China. It thrives in the sandy soil of coastlines, tolerates dry semi-desert sites and also occurs as a sub-alpine shrub above the tree line in mountains.
My friend Mari-Liis piped in that she rolls the berry-laden woody branches between her hands while wearing
töö/kindad (work gloves) to release its berries. They're a far cry from sweet wild strawberries – tremendously tart and have been described as having a "musty sour tang", as well as being an all around "ridiculously frustrating fruit" (The Irish Times). But that won't stop kids from tossing them into smoothies or their morning
puder (porridge) in their frozen state. They melt quickly and burst, turning the
puder a cheerful
oranž. It's a good
nipp to know.
Riina Kindlam, Tallinn
