Juniperus communis to the chased girls. Its astringent blue-black seed cones, commonly known as "juniper berries", are too bitter to eat raw and are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. Since juniper berries have a strong taste, they should be used sparingly. They are generally used to enhance meat with a strong flavour, such as game, including game birds, or tongue. The cones are used to flavour certain beers and gin (the word "gin" derives from an Old French word meaning "juniper"). In Finland, juniper is used
Gin gang These are not to be confused with the uncovered ones which were called "gin−circle", "ginnyring", "horse−course", "horse−gang", "horse−path", "horse−track" and "horse−walk". In Scotland, Wales, and Warwickshire a gin gang was commonly called a "horse engine house". In 1976, 1,300 gin gangs were identified in Great Britain, and a few others in Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and East Germany. Most gin gangs were built from around 1785 to 1851, peaking in 1800 to 1830. The most recent ones were built in the Isle of Wight and Cornwall from 1845 to 1868. In the 19th century there were 575 gin gangs in