Native wild berries

I had my second outing of collecting native berries this year and I was pleasantly surprised. 

On my first excursion, I thought I hit paydirt by coming home with a full 1.5L container of salmonberries.  I had made note of a good berry spot weeks before when the bushes were still just in bloom, and was just guessing when the berries would actually be out.  But I was surprised to keep finding more and more berries further down the path.  It is an infrequently used trail in a forested park on west side of Vancouver (no I'm not telling exactly where), but I still felt better leaving some berries for others to sample as they pass by.  But that meant a big of bushwacking to get at the harder to reach berries ... and a few scratched arms, spiders and yes some doggie gifts that owners hadn't removed (twice!).  But it was all worth it; fresh berries and whipped cream ... mmmmm.  It took lots of discipline to delegate half to the freezer.

For my second hunting trip on Saturday, I headed to another area for maybe more salmonberries.  There wasn't as much as before, but I hit the motherload for huckleberries.  I thought that they weren't ready until later in the summer, but obviously not.  I came upon a dozen big plants that were absolutely covered in big ripe huckleberries.  A few shrubs were even right next to the path, less than 100 meters from a residential area ... and they hadn't been picked clean yet.    Just waiting for me:)  I didn't clearcut them (that wouldn't be very ethical/eco friendly) but before I knew it, two hours later, my 2L container was only half full.  Even a large number of tiny berries doesn't feed a hungry local harvester.  Another surprise was a few thimbleberries and even wild trailing blackberries - but these need another few weeks for a bigger sampling.

I stopped at Chapters to sneak a peek at a Aboriginal Cook Book (Where People Feast: An Indigenous People's Cookbook by Annie and Dollie Watts) to see if there were suggestions on how to preserve the berries other than making jam. I quick browse found many recipes, but not what I was looking for; so I defaulted to freezing again.  My aunt used to make berry leather with a dehydrator; maybe I'll look into that for blackberry season.  I've definately been watching the local blackberry blooms get bigger and more plentiful lately.  Then I'll be out harvesting again ... with everyone else because the blackberries are more visible and public.

 Even though the local farm strawberries are absolutely to-die-for, wild berries that I pick from the forest seem to taste better (also emotionally and environmentally).  And maybe realizing that I'm the only one doing it in these two particular "hidden" spots is kind of rewarding too. 

Now, if I could just become a better cook.