Fermented Juniper Berry Juice (aka smreka), is a sour and refreshing, lemonade-like beverage, perfect for quenching the thirst on a warm evening.
Almost everyone who comes to Sarajevo in late spring is surprised by the variety of unusual yet tasty homemade juices available at local cafes. Come May, there’s the ubiquitous zova made out of the elder tree flowers (also known as zova) which blossom around that time. There is also the fantastic rose juice (sok od ruže or djul šerbe), made from local wild rose petals.
And then there is smreka – the fermented juniper berry juice.
Have you tried it? If not, you should! Because smreka is simply perfect.
Although the mention of fermented plants evokes the taste of sauerkraut, think of juniper berry juice as a “more sour than usual” lemonade that can be consumed as is, or made sweeter with honey or sugar. It’s very refreshing, and perfect to go along with local desserts such as the walnut stuffed apples (tufahije). I even take it with a heartier main course, such as moussaka.
People take to smreka quickly, and some make their own after returning home. I’ve had a few requests for a while, and below is the recipe I’ve used with great success.
(As with anything fermented, there is no rule that’s cut in stone. You may like to ferment berries without lemon. You may like to leave the juice to ferment longer than 10-15 days. Or you may think 7 days is enough. Fermenting recipes are more of a framework within which you’ll figure out your own preferences. Please note that some readers found the lemon goes bad if the berries are kept in the sunny place while they ferment. This hasn’t happened to me, but then again, my window sill, where I usually keep them, is not sunny all day long. It may be better to keep them in shade while they ferment. Use your best judgement.)
In addition to this juice, juniper berry is known for being an active ingredient in several other Balkan delicacies, including the homemade juniper berry brandy (rakija klekovača), as well as gin.
The plant itself is said to have many different health benefits, and is widely used in the area. The juice is an excellent diuretic, and is also recommended as an aid against coughing, asthma, stomachaches and uti’s. It’s said to be especially effective for stomach problems of all sorts, and is often recommended by the doctors here to patients suffering with kidney stones. When made into oil, juniper berries are excellent to use in massaging areas affected by the rheumatoid arthritis.
P.S. We’ve done additional interesting beverages before. Do you remember sour cherry liqueur? Or the elderflower cordial? If you don’t feel like fermenting drinks, how about some white wine lemonade?
Recipe provided by Samir Hajdarević.
Fermented Juniper Berry Juice (Smreka)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Category: Beverage
Ingredients
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup dry juniper berries
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Wash lemon well, and quarter it leaving the skin on. Combine with juniper berries and place in a large glass 1-liter bottle (or jar). Fill with water all the way and close the lid loosely.
- Leave bottle on the window sill (or the terrace), for 7-15 days. A lot of juniper berries will start sinking to the bottom, or travel up and down in the bottle, while water will become yellowish. This is your sign that the juice is ready. (Please read the note regarding the spot you chose for fermenting.)
- Strain the juice, transfer to a different bottle, and keep in a cold place.
- When getting ready to consume the juice, taste and see if it’s to your liking. If it’s too strong, dilute with a little bit of regular or mineral water. Add a teaspoon of sugar as well if you prefer.
- Meanwhile, repeat the process to make more juice with the same berries. Transfer them back into the original bottle, add a new quartered lemon, fill them up with water, and leave in a sunny spot. You can reuse berries once or twice. When most of them stay on the bottom, and the juice is no longer flavorful, they’re ready to be discarded.
Notes
The berries sometimes travel up and down the jar. If you’ve used a lot of berries, a lot may not even fall to the bottom before the juice is ready. That’s fine. Tasting the juice, and discovering its tart, sour and refreshing flavor is a sign smreka is ready to be consumed.
As with anything fermented, there is no rule that’s cut in stone. You may like to ferment berries without lemon. You may like to leave the juice to ferment longer than 10-15 days. Or you may think 7 days is enough. Some readers found the lemon goes bad if the berries are kept in the sunny place while they ferment. This hasn’t happened to me, but my window sill – where I usually keep them while they ferment – is not sunny all day long. It may be better to keep them in shade while they ferment. Use your best judgement.
I would love to try this juice…You have beautiful blog.
Thank you Zoki, and thanks for stopping by. It’s very easy to make, and I’m sure you’d like it.
do you use fresh or dry juniper berries? also if you want to add sugar do you add it after the juice is ready?
Hi Jen, thanks for stopping by. Dry juniper berries are used. (Correction added.) Yes, add sugar after the juice is ready.
What are the health benefits of this juce, kindly tell me where can I find the organic juniper berries, also tell me if the are edidble,and good for human consumption .
Can they cure diabetes, I heart juniper berries produce insulin is that true.
Waheed, try amazon. They’re in season during the summer. Sellers may charge more for them this time around.
As far as insulin/ diabetes question please consult with your doctor. I cannot give you medical advice. However here is a study done on juniper berries and their effect on hypoglycemia https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8073081
Thank you for this recipe. I am impressed with the taste of the juice and will be making it often.
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Janine,
Glad it turned out well. Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
This looks fab – I’ve never seen anything about fermenting juniper berries before, so thanks for sharing!
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Hey Emma, great profile photo! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you make this juice. It tastes amazing, and it’s healthy too.
Hi there!
I would like to share with you the way we prepare this drink in Albania. Here we call it Hardiç (pronounced harditch, and don’t ask me about the name’s etymology cause I don’t know).
It is similar to your way but it takes a little more space and time. On the other hand you will have enough for the whole winter or so.
In a 40 liter plastic container (or even metallic but produced for food containing purposes) ad 2kg of fresh juniper berries. Try to not include green ones as they may negatively influence the taste.
Fill the container with potable water and close the lid without force-closing it since the fermentation will increase the volume of the content and may explode the container.
Leave it in a fresh place for 40 days. Afterwards you can try the taste, and if it seems ok start using it. You need to filter the juice with a thin sieve or even with a piece of textile.
If the container comes with a tap be sure to put a filter from the inside already at the beginning.
Every time you take juice from the container you can add the same amount of potable water to it. This should go on for as long as the taste remains the same. When you feel it doesn’t taste any more like before it means the juniper berries are ready to be discarded.
Thanks and enjoy.
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Doian, thank you for leaving such a thoughtful, long comment. I love hearing how similar stuff is prepared across different places. You know I never thought about making a batch that big, but it makes sense. If we ferment vegetables in large buckets, I guess we could do it with juniper berry juice too. We ferment for a much shorter period of time though. Not sure if the size of your bucket has to do with longer fermenting period. Good point about not using the green berries! Cheers!
Sorry, in my previous comment there’s a mistake in the recipe: not 2kg of juniper but 12kg of juniper berries.
Thanks
I have been preparing a modified version of this drink for the last 5 years. As it takes more than a month to complete the fermentation process, I find it impractical to make small quantities such as 1L. I make 10L batches and the only reason why I don’t go with larger qty’s is price of berries. I live in Canada and usually bring berries from Bosnia, few kg each year, which is insufficient to go with the concept proposed by the poster from Albania – 12kg berries in a large 40L barrel (thank you for posting it). While price of berries in Canada is sort of high, around $30/kg, for rather pretty mediocre quality (and they are actually imported from Balkans). Otherwise, I would love to be able to do it in a 50L barrel and just keep adding water as the good stuff is being consumed rather than keep constantly making 10L jugs for several thirsty mouths :).
From a Bosnian village where I came from, the original recipe included 5L jars with approx 300gr of juniper berries + some rose hip fruit (sipurak) and few slices of some sour apple, properly sealed and to be left in a warm place, such as a sunny window for 3-4 weeks. I modified this process by adding some other dry fruits as well and also having a 2 step fermentation, 3 weeks with berries and fruits at a warmer place (23C) in and 3 weeks without at a bit lower temperature (20C). Due to sugar in small amount of other dry fruits I add, my ready to drink juice has approx 0.5% of alcohol, which only improves quality of the product :).
Hi Tersivoje,
Thanks for sharing your fantastic recipe. Smreka – like ajvar and pindjur – is a delicacy everyone adds a personal touch to. I like your idea of adding other fruit – I’ll experiment with it.
You’re correct, 1l is a small quantity, but perfect as a starting out volume when fermenting the first few times. (The juice is usually diluted a bit, so ultimately this is closer to two liters of juice for consumption.) Most of my readership isn’t from the Balkans, and probably wouldn’t commit to fermenting 10 or 12 liters of the juice they’ve never tried. Also, as you mentioned, the berries are rather expensive in North America so it’s economical for them to start small. However if/ when they do, now they can.:)
Other fruits I use are wild dry cherries (Bosnia), wild dry blueberries (Bosnia), wild dry grape (Canada) all of which add some taste and also a lot of red color, then tamarind (for sour taste), or dates, raisins, dry apricots (Turkey) all of which add mostly sugar. Sometimes lime or lemon. Occasionally wild sour apples when I find some (which I also use to make another specialty from my village – they make apple vinegar only from those small, zero sugar, very sour wild apples – zukve).
And if you want to carbonize the drink, obviously mixing it with sparkling water works, but what also works is to pack the juice in 1L glass or plastic bottles, add a bit of honey (~15gr), use a good cap or plug and leave it for couple weeks. When you open, it will foam like beer :). Obviously, you can use sugar instead, but honey adds a bit of flavor. Fermented honey alone is also one of the old recipes, mead (medovina).
I’m also thinking of getting 1 gallon CO2 pressurized dispenser for tursija. I presently keep it in 1 gallon glass jugs, but a dispenser would be more convenient for “handling”.
You’re really passionate about smreka, I love this! Thank you for taking the time to share it with us. That carbonating idea is great – healthier than your regular soda, and a brand new taste (for most). I wonder if it could be achieved with soda machine.? (But then we miss out on the beer opening effect which I can just picture.) I’ve heard about medovina, although I never tried it. Regarding tursija, I like to keep it simple. However if you do make it with the pressurizer, do come back and tell us how it came out! Once again, thanks for taking the time to explain everything, I think a lot of people will get a lot of good ideas out of your comments, myself included! 🙂
I am so happy I finally found your recipe I had searched the internet for hours to find out what I could do with these berries.
All they seemed to give me, was how to cook with them.
But I had heard of Juniper berry juice so I finally came across your recipe,
Can you tell me what the Health benefits are for drinking the juice?
Thank You. Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina, what a gorgeous name! Glad you found use for these berries. This juice is fantastic. I do not have credentials in nutritional medicine therefore I couldn’t dispense any advice regarding its health benefits. Here is a link for an article that talks about it though http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/medicinal-benefits-juniper-berries-7691.html.
I tried to infuse juniper berries in avocado oil … I picked and washed/dried the berries; sterilized a jar, put the berries in to about 2/3 full and covered them with the oil by about an inch. I left it initially in fridge and shook it ever day but oil solidified. After 2 weeks, I placed the jar in a cook, dark place and shook it every day. About a week later I opened the jar and discovered they were fermenting and berries were sprouting. It smells very nice, but I have no idea what to do with it now. Do you or anyone know anything about this?
Gisele, I’ve only used juniper berries for the juice. Perhaps make an essential oil out of it, for aroma?
I feel so lucky to have access to a LOT of juniper berries locally, that’s how I came across the recipe (looking for uses). I have made my own Juniper syrup for pancakes as well as using in my soda machine, as well a Starbucks copycat juniper sage latte. Am eager to try this out, thanks for sharing!
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Nice! Juniper syrup sounds delicious. Let us know if you make smreka and if you like it.
Hello beautiful people of Balkan Lunch Box
The first time I tried this recipe was in 2017, I went to Sarajevo for a short trip in May and that was when I saw a big jar in a restaurant; a restaurant that still stands from the boom where a lot of restaurants had opened around Bjelasnica to service the Winter Olympics 1984. That was before I was born; but have lived to tell the tales after we had to leave our house in 1992.
I made my first Smreka back in Australia, with the berries I had for a while. I shared it with the love of my life. It was delicious.
It is 2018 and I made my second Smreka. I left it for 6 weeks though, because it looks so pretty and I would rather watch it than drink it. Today I decided to have a sip.
How long before I should be worried that I have developed harmful bacteria? I found a gray film on the surface.
If I boiled it to kill bacteria, would it ruin the chemistry?
love from Western Australia,
Aziza
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Hi lovely Aziza!
Great to hear about you encountering smreka for the first time at a restaurant near Bjelasnica, and thanks for sharing your life story with us.
Six weeks is too long to ferment smreka. (I ferment sour cherry liqueur (višnjevača) for that long, or cabbage heads.)
Smreka fermenting depends on the temperature. If it’s summer it takes a shorter amount of time, while winter months require a little bit longer.
Generally, it takes about 10-15 days on a relatively sunny window sill for it to be ready, although as you can read from the comments above, some readers leave it for 3-4 weeks. (There is another commenter that leaves his for 40 days, but, he makes a huge batch in a barrel.)
You’ll notice most of the berries falling to the bottom of your jar (half or more). That’s a good sign smreka is ready to consume. Before consumption, smreka is usually watered down, so effectively when you’re ready to drink it, you’ll make it the way you would a syrupy drink like elderflower cordial (zova): a little bit of smreka plus reg or mineral water. (Unless you like it strong, in which case, consume as is.)
Not sure about boiling the bacteria away and how that would affect the taste. I worry the brown stuff might be mold, or as they say in the Balkans “ubudjalo se.”
So, dump that batch, get some more berries and repeat the process. Except this time around shorten the fermenting period. You can reuse those berries one or two more times.
Let me know how it works out!
Love from, currently very sunny, Sarajevo.
Hi Balkan lunch box!
Wondering if you could help me with the pronunciation of “smreka”, is the S silent?
Very excited to try this recipe, thank you!
Hi Julia,
Smreka is pronounced just like it sounds, with a hard “r”, so “s-mr-eh-kah”. The s isn’t silent. Good luck! <3
Do the juniper berries have to be fresh? I just collected a bunch locally, but I may dry some of them. This sounds like a lovely, easy drink to try.
Brigid,
They don’t have to be fresh, but when they’re dry it takes a little longer to ferment them. In either case the drink is just as you said, lovely and easy.
Hello! Thank you very much for this recipe! I have made my first batch and I’m wondering what should it smell like? Mine has a slightly cheese-like smell and I’m wondering if I’ve made it wrong. Thank you!!
Tatijanna,
Sorry for the late reply. Not sure why it smells like cheese. Could be that the smreka they sold you was old. Generally the smell is reminiscent of conifers. Do you speak Bosnian (Serbian or Croatian) so I can send you some links?
Hope that helps.
Aida
Hi , this is my first time trying this recipe, is it regular water you use for this , or do I need the kefir grains
Thanks
Regular water.
Hi there!!
Just bottled my juniper berries! Excited to se how it turns out. One question I have them bottled in a sealed Kilner jar… is that ok? Or do they need air? Thanks in advance.
Treasa,
I haven’t used Kilner jar, I usually put them in a pitcher and cover the pitcher with a plate. Just a note – since writing the article a couple of readers have gotten back to me regarding the temperature. If you live in a hotter climate, it may be best to keep them in a shaded area on the terrace otherwise the lemon deteriorates quickly rendering the berries unusable. A few readers had mentioned this happening to them. I never had a problem keeping them on my window sill which is sunny, but now that I look at it, it’s not sunny all day long. So just move it to a more shaded area.
Good luck!
I haven’t tried fermentation yet, but the first thing I think when I see the word is alcohol. Does this drink have any noticeable alcohol content to it?
Not when made this way. Local homemade brandy made from juniper berry is called kleka.
I left couple comments above about 3 years ago. Since then, I improved my process by simply bottling fermented smreka juice to this kind of bottle:
https://www.grolsch.com/sites/default/files/styles/portrait_360x432_/public/2019-01/1200x1200_PilsnerINT_16_Saskia_BLANK.jpg?itok=dSvzX2Qb
To fit 10L, I had to buy 20 of those and “empty” the original content first :). You can buy bottles with similar plug but you might not be able to find as small, those are right size. Most plastic 0.5L water bottles have a good stopped so those will work as well.
Carbonization is easy, just add about 5gr of honey before filling, wait at least 15 days for the honey to ferment, which will create enough CO2 to somewhat pressurize the bottle (assuming that the plug still hold well). If you put a bit too much honey (or sugar) inside, there is risk that a “geyser” will form when you open the bottle. This can be solved by opening bottles which were chilled in the fridge first.
Thanks for the comment, it is very thorough and I’m sure a lot of readers will appreciate it.