For me, the summer of 2016 has been the best berry year ever. My berry season starts with wild strawberries and they were bigger than ever this year. Wild raspberries are almost always abundant. Our famous Yukon cranberries are looking extremely promising this year. The wild season ends with rosehips.
I like to compare Mother Nature to a grocery store: sometimes Mother Nature temporarily discontinues a product or moves it to a different aisle. And, as with shopping, you have to have a knack for it.
Walking up to a berry patch I might not see berries right away and, for all I know, I am standing on them. Suddenly, I see my berry-picking partner on hands and knees and hear the lovely “plop plop” sound of the first berries hitting the bottom of the bucket.
Sometimes I make jam with my berry harvest, or for a special treat, a pitcher of juice.
For jam, on average, I use one part berries, ½ part sugar and a little water. For juice I use four cups of berries, four cups of water, and ½ cup of sugar. I only cook the berries the minimum amount of time for desired results.
I eat all of these berries, as-is, for breakfast or dessert. I also freeze them as they are, for winter use. I never wash the berries; rather I try to pick them clean and then remove bits and pieces like spruce needles before feasting on them. All berries shown here are picked within 10 km of my home.
Northern gooseberry. I find this berry in the mixed spruce poplar forest on my property. The
at the foot of mountains, the nagoon berry at lower elevations in wet mossy areas where bearberries are abundant. I have never found great quantities, but they are a wonderful treat on a walk or long hike.
