Crataegus rivularis

Crataegus rivularis
fruits and thorns

There are between 200 and 1000 species of Hawthorns in the Crataegus genus, but the most common local variety is Crataegus rivularis, the river hawthorn, also known as Crataegus douglasii var. rivularis and probably many other names as well. Botanical micro-management aside, most hawthorns have similar fruits and are used the same way.

True to its name, river hawthorn grows next to rivers, and can grow quite abundantly in some locations. The fruit, when properly ripe, is very dark red to black, and filled with a soft flesh. Later the fruit dries and hardens and is no good for eating. Leaf shape can vary dramatically in this genus, but the leaves of this species are about twice as long as wide, taper on both ends, and toothed on the margin, especially at the apex of the leaf. But probably the most distinctive feature of the Crataegus genus is the thorns, which grow at irregular intervals along the branches. Details vary among the different species, but in river hawthorn, they are about an inch long, and are often sparse enough that you need to do some searching to find them. Some other species have many more and longer thorns and occasionally have been used as border hedges. Find the thorns to be sure you have the Crataegus genus. Find a botanist if you want to be sure about the species.

The fruits are commonly called "haws". Botanically, they are a pome, like apples. But because of their size, "hawthorn berries" is perhaps a more understandable description. The consistency of the flesh in the fruits has been described, by my taste-testers, as "thick apple sauce", "goop", and "paste". Unfortunately, the experience of eating the fruit is also marred by the presence of 5 hard seeds, which are spit out afterwards. The good news is that the actual taste of the flesh, once you get used to the texture, is actually quite good. Is it mildly and pleasantly sweet, slightly tart, and not entirely unlike apple sauce. It has its own distinctive flavor, which is somewhat cranberry-ish. The taste is stronger than apples but weaker than cranberries. 

Most sources warn about toxic cyanide-containing compounds in the seeds, and do not recommend eating them. Specifics are hard to find, but this is common in the rose family, so one should expect them to be similar to apple seeds in this respect. It would probably take a similarly ridiculous amount of seeds to reach a toxic level, but because hawthorn fruit have much less flesh compared to seed than apples do, it is probably easier to reach that toxic level if you were to eat them whole. It is best to spit or filter out the seeds, but because of the pasty consistency of the flesh, this can be a challenge.

I ran my haws through a manual juicer (auger-type) with the end ring removed so that the seeds could go through without being crushed or breaking the juicer. This resulted in some high-quality paste though the juicing screen, which soon turned fairly firm because of all the pectin in it. But most of the fruit and flesh went out the end of the juicer. With this I tried a method recommended by Thomas Elpel, mixing it with some water and squeezing through a cloth. My cloth only let the liquids through, but these were high in pectin, and soon turned jelly-like. And second mixing and squeezing produced a liquid with less pectin, but still a lot of flavor. I tried a third mix and squeeze, but the flavor from that was much less.

More recently I have constructed a screen which I can manually press the fruit through. This is labor intense, requiring me to rub the berries on the screen until everything but the seeds are pressed though, but it allows me to use as much of the fruit as possible. Since we really like the flavor of Elderberry-Hawthorn syrup, the effort is worth it.

Although hawthorn berries have a good flavor, the trouble of processing them might not be worth the effort, if they did not contain high amounts of pectin. The pectin makes hawthorn a valuable addition when making jellies and jams from other kinds of berries and fruits. Commercial pectin is currently in short supply, because of the government lockdowns in 2020, so it's nice to have a wildcrafted source for it, and the flavor of hawthorn is also a good addition to most recipes. I especially like to combine it with elderberries, to make an elderberry-hawthorn syrup, out of 4 part elderberries to 1 part hawthorn paste, sweetened with about 4 parts sugar or honey.