Saskatoon Berries
Adell Shneer in our test kitchen brought this foodie find to my attention. She was shopping at a local farmers market and came across these Saskatoon berries. They brought back great memories for her, growing up in Edmonton and picking them on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.
Up until only a few decades ago, these were only found in the wild, but they are
now cultivated so you should be able to find them. However, the season is a short one, they are only available for a couple of weeks in July. They are high in pectin so they make good jam and jelly.
What berries are in season where you live?
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July 18th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
My daughter-in-law just googled the family name and came up with this posting. I don’t think I wrote the article and it is amazing that there is another Adele Shneer - with Shneer spelled the same way. My hustband is James and we don’t think there any relatives in Canada, but who knows. Anyway it’s an amazing coincidence. Years ago I started using my middle name, Diane, because no one could pronounce Adele correctly. Congrats to this Adell for sticking with it!
July 19th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Hey Christine! I’ve been enjoying fistfulls of Saskatoon berries grown in Ontario via farmer’s markets in the Toronto area. Yum! They’re kind of like a blueberry but a little more tart. My Western cousins always lament having to pick the darn things in Saskatchewan as small girls.
My best friend and I used to eat these lovely blackberries in August along “our” trail in Elora, Ontario (an abandoned railway track). To date I don’t know exactly what they were, but they were sweet and lovely.
I’ve traveled with Americans who are jealous of all our berries we have growing naturally in Canada. Though our growing season is short we certainly have some natural gems.
July 19th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
My daughter just picked Saskatoon Berries in the wild this week. We live in Saskatchewan, and as long as there isn’t a late frost, we usually have lots in the wild throughout the Qu’Appelle Valley. She brought them to me all picked over and washed. I dried them and froze them for future use. I now have 4 pints in the freezer!! They make wonderful tarts. WooHoo!!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hazel, what other berries do you get in Saskatchewan?
July 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Adele, I passed you message on to your namesake!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hi Adele,
It was very interesting to find your email this morning. My married name is Shneer, I grew up in Edmonton, as Adell Reichert, but usually my name is not mis-pronounced, only misspelled.
Where did you grow up? Where is your home?
Do you ever get food inquiries? Are you a foodie too??
Thanks for writing in. Keep posted to Christine’s foodie finds and Canadian Living (web and mag) for lots of great recipes and food ideas.
Adell (CHERI) Shneer
July 21st, 2008 at 3:18 pm
[...] the Canadian Living blog, Christine Picheca looks at the marvellous Saskatoon berry, while Eric Vellend of Menumental reviews Lil [...]
July 29th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I too grew up picking these berries in Edmonton. I remember going to the YMCA summer camp picking them from the bushes. I often talk about them. It is great to hear that they are available in Ontario, I will have to ask at my local farmers market; Herridges in Mississauga and see if they can bring some in, they are mostly a 100 mile store, so if the berries are cultivated locally I will be making some jelly to surprise my mom, also a berry lover.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Anyone have a good recipe for Saskatoon Pie? (preferably one where the berries are not cooked before being added to the pie shell)
Thanks!
July 31st, 2008 at 3:47 pm
In our Market Fresh special issue we have a recipe for Blueberry Pie where you can substitute Saskatoon berries. The filling is 5 cups berries, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp grated orange rind and 1 T orange juice.
Mix this all together and use in your favourite pie crust.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
We live at Buffalo Lake in central Alberta in a small community of Scenic Sands. We have a huge bowlful of Saskatoon berries in the fridge right now which my husband Chris and I picked on the trail to the lake last week. At this very moment my husband Chris is washing more saskatoons that he just picked off the shrubs in our yard. We have given them away to family and friends and baked muffins with them. Tomorrow I plan on trying to make some jam out of them. Chris & I are both originally from northern Manitoba and so are more familiar with wild raspberries and blueberries. Thanks for the saskatoon berry pie recipe Christine Picheca, which I will definitely try.