Sea Buckthorn

Vitamin C powerhouse

Sea buckthorn berries contain among the highest levels of vitamin C of any wild plant in the temperate zone — 400–800 mg per 100 g in some analyses, compared to 50 mg in oranges. Combined with high levels of vitamin E, beta-carotene, omega-3 and omega-7 fatty acids, and antioxidant flavonoids, the berries have attracted serious nutritional research interest. The omega-7 palmitoleic acid content of sea buckthorn oil is particularly unusual and has skin-health applications.

Intensely sour

The raw berries are intensely sour — not unpleasant in small quantities, but far too sharp for everyday eating. The flavour is a powerful combination of vitamin C sharpness with tropical-fruit notes (hints of pineapple and passion fruit) and an underlying fatty, almost buttery quality from the high oil content. Processing (juicing, syrup, jam) tames the sharpness and makes the flavour accessible and distinctive.

British coastal plant

Sea buckthorn is native to British coasts — growing on sand dunes and sea cliffs along the east coast of England. It has been extensively planted as a dune-stabilising plant and has naturalised across coastal areas. Foraging sea buckthorn berries in autumn has become popular in Britain, though the thorny stems make harvesting painful.

Industrial freezing technique

The standard commercial harvesting method in Russia and Scandinavia is “freezing and beating” — waiting until frost hardens the berries (and makes them less likely to burst), then beating the branches so frozen berries fall onto collection cloths below. This avoids the painful work of hand-picking from thorny branches.