We have a family member who is obsessed with goji berries — for good reason, we suppose.
They are the current darlings of the superfood world for being much higher in antioxidants than pomegranates and having cancer-fighting qualities. Of course, we wonder how it took us so long to discover something that the Chinese have been eating forever...
We've tried goji berry juice (a gift from said family member) but not the dried berries, which are said to taste a bit like cranberries but not as sweet. We're all for throwing the little bundles of antioxidants into our cooking, but what's the best way?
Several things we've read, including this thread on chowhound, suggest that they taste better after soaking at the bottom of a cup of tea, a traditional Chinese practice.
We think they'd be good in a rich chocolate cookie or brownie or tossed into homemade granola. You could also add them to a pot of Dried Fruit Warmed with Red Wine and Spices or a bowl of Steelcut Oats with Dates, Coconut, Cinnamon, and Pecans.
We've heard they go well in savory dishes — on top of pork, or even in a chicken soup (the chowhound thread mentions this, too).
As far as the juice, we think it tastes like a lighter, more pleasant prune juice, although our prune juice memories are foggy... We'd add it to a smoothie in a second, though.
Most goji berries are grown in China, although there is some debate about whether ones labeled Himalayan or Tibetan are better. We've read that some US farmers are starting to grow them, but for now, they likely fly on a plane to get to you.
You can find goji berries at health food stores, or buy them online:
- Gojiberries.us
- LiveSuperFoods.com
- NutsOnline.com
- Goji berry juice at Amazon.com.
Anyone out there eating and cooking with goji berries? How do you use them?
(Images: NutsOnline and Amazon)
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I mixed them in some homemade granola bars instead of dried cranberries.
They also go well in a Taiwanese herbal chicken soup, seasoned primarily with ginger and goji berries.
Homemade granola!!! Although I've only become accustomed to it in the last year or so, I love putting it in alongside cranberries and apricots and of course lots of tasty oats/grains and cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and maple. It's been the best way of flavoring plain yogurt!
I find that goji berries' fruity flavor goes great with chocolate. I've made fabulous dark chocolate ice cream and a dark chocolate brownies using them. Not the most healthy of foods but certainly some of the tastiest I've made.
I've seen people just throw them in their water bottles and drink them all day.
The dried berries are also great in salads - they give a touch of sweetness and a great crunch. If you're in NYC they sell them at the Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market for cheaper than Whole Foods.
Muffins made with whole wheat and grains, then add some goji berries and pumpkin seeds. =)
i second the taiwanese soup idea. it's really good and healthy and good if you get a cold! google it.
soak gojis in a nice, thin, garlicky salad dressing, & put on salads. yummmy.
Dried Gojis are a staple in Chinese herbal soups/tea/medicine. It's very cheap (it's not usually used on it's own, it's always mix with other herbal ingredients), and I was quite amuse to see the huge markup whole foods and health food stores sells them for, now that they are the "miracle" berries.
Chinese supermarkets have them. At chinese herbal or dry goods stores you can buy them in bulk. For those who are worried about chinese imported food.. Gojis are fairly safe, else Chinatown(s) wouldn't be as crowded as it is. We are force fed soup made from these stuff from infancy.
I don't really find their taste to be anything unique. I prefer to eat them in the Peace Ginger Hemp cereal. Delicious.
Gojis have traditionally been revered as a longevity food and contain high levels of cholesterol-reducing phytosterols and eyesight-protecting carotenoids.
http://www.radiantrawsuperfoods.com/