Shadbush Berries & The Cascade of Summer Harvests
Shadbush berry. Serviceberry. Or as my Canadian compatriots refer to them — Saskatoons.
The genus is Amelanchier, and given that they’re blue, relatively similar in size to a blueberry (shadbush berries average slightly larger), that they ripen here just a week or so before the blueberries reach their prime — and that we harvest them on the edges of a vast blueberry plain, it's hard not to compare the two.
I love blueberries, they’re the workhorse of my annual berry consumption. For a few years, I’ve eaten them daily, blending them into smoothies each morning. They’re an important part of my overall health strategy, which includes brightly colored wild fruits for the sun protection they afford and the antioxidant power they possess. But blueberries, as delicious and wonderful as they are, simply aren’t on the same culinary level as the saskatoon.
Shadbush berries are creamier in texture, like little bites of fruit custard, and blues by comparison are a bit watery and acidic. That’s not something I usually notice about blueberries unless I eat them side by side. And while the small, edible seeds of a blueberry add a faint nuttiness to their flavor, is a subtle thing. Shadbush on the other hand, like apples and almonds, is a member of the rose family. When bitten down upon, its seeds release an aromatic amaretto flavor that elevates them — for me — to a higher gustatory position. They’re really quite exotic.
They’re also an important part of our annual wild food calendar. Once they ripen the rest of our summer is a cascade of harvests. Blueberries are next — usually just days away — followed by the brambles — raspberry, dewberry, blackberry, and thimbleberry. Ripe shadbush berries signal to me that the reishi mushrooms are at their prime and that it’s time to head to the coast to fish for striped bass. And that soon the bear season will begin. By the time we finish that it’ll be early fall.
It all unfolds so fast, and it's an annual challenge to keep up with the pace. I’m just glad to be WildFed!
