Omija (schisandra berry) ✦

Baie de schisandra (omija)

What it is

Its Chinese name, wu wei zi, means five-flavour berry: the skin sour, the flesh sweet, the seeds bitter and pungent, the whole faintly salty. Korean cooks never boil it — hot water drags tannin out of the seeds and the clear red goes muddy and harsh.

In the kitchen

Infuse the whole dried berries in cold water overnight, about 30 g to the litre, then strain without pressing — crushing the fruit releases exactly the seed bitterness you spent the night avoiding.

Goes with

Honey Comice pear Ginger Jujube Pine nut Raspberry Mint

In season alongside

Lingonberry Damson Rowan berry Bergeron apricot Apricot Blackberry

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