Saskatoon Berry Recipes for our iconic Canadian Berries
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Saskatoon Berry Jam
This Saskatoon Berry Jam Recipe is the best one you will find anywhere. “When I taste this beautiful berry, I always think of my grandma, Maude. Oh, how she loved her berries. She would know where the best spots were around her home in the Clive-Lacombe area of Alberta. She would know the best days to go ….And, at the end of the day, thick fresh farm cream would wash over these berries and there was no better place on earth at that moment than my grandma’s kitchen table in the last rays of the evening sun.”
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Saskatoon Berry Ice Cream
A rare treat, this Saskatoon Berry Ice Cream is a gorgeous colour. “The berries are as different in flavour to a blueberry as a strawberry is to a raspberry. They are a dense berry. Juicy, yes, but more dense than the black currant, though the seeds are smaller, therefore there is less pulp, but a thick lush coulis… the colour so vibrant. The Saskatoon flavour was present, but not singing Soprano. It presents a lovely harmony to the thick, fatty cream…”
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Saskatoon Berry Galette with Raspberry Topping and Ice Cream
This Saskatoon Berry Galette is easy to make, an incredible presentation and a scrumptious celebration of the Saskatoon and Respberry Season. “… In those days, foraging for berries was part of the country life: part of the winter preservation plan. Not any more. Not in the city, at least. I would not know where a row of Saskatoons were growing to save my life… I run across a bush or two when on a walk, but certainly nothing like we would plunk ourselves in front of “back in the day” for the entire day, leaving with buckets and buckets and buckets of berries…”
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Traditional Canadian Prairie Saskatoon Berry Pie
Saskatoon Berry Pie is iconic on the Canadian prairies. This is our family method and recipe passed down from generation to generation and Itestify to you that you will not find a better recipe. “A warm fragrant slice of flavourful Saskatoon berry pie with creamy homemade vanilla ice cream is a prairie ritual. Though one that is rare, and revered due to a variety of factors, but mainly the difficulty of locating wild berries to forage fruit from and the lost art of homemade pie making. Just look at that incredible lush piece of love and history on a plate! …never pass up an opportunity to taste a Saskatoon berry!”
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: A Canadian Foodie Original – The Scrumptious Fresh Saskatoon Berry French Tart
I was inspired to make this Fresh Saskatoon Berry Tart for my dad. At the onset of the season every single year when Dad would taste the first fresh Saskatoon berries I can still hear his gutteral “mmmmmmmm.” How I miss him. “When I phoned mom and dad and asked them to come over for coffee I was quite excited to present this surprise! …Both complained that the piece was “far too big” as they always do. This was followed by moans and groans of pleasure. Each ate every bit on their plate, and dad was scraping the surface of his plate …”
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Summer Fruit Salad to include Saskatoon Berries
A fresh summer fruit salad is Vanja’s favourite treat. This recipe can easily have the blueberries substituted with Saskatoon berries. “Raised on seasonal food, Vanja craves fresh fruit salads as soon as the summer sun rises over the horizon to blister a day. A fresh fruit salad was a treat in our Alberta prairie home, not a consistent summer memory. When mom made it, she would use pineapple tidbits instead of fresh pineapple, likely due to its cost and accessibility. Sometimes, she would throw in a can of fruit cocktail. Judy and I would fight over who got the lone red cherry… Children and adults eat much more fresh fruit when in a fresh fruit salad. There is something magical about the mix of flavours and textures that makes it a bit addictive….”
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Summer Tossed Salad with Saskatoon Berries
There is no recipe link for this concept. I chop up fresh vegetables from the fridge, a little onion, add the lettuce, some pinenuts or other toasted buts and throw in a good amount of berries in season, but the Saskatoon berry is the best as it is a solid berry that holds up to the toss of a salad and provides a complimentaty burst of sweet texture to the mix. A well seasoned oil and raspberry or sour cherry vinegar dressing add the final “ta-da” and everyone asks for the recipe. Ha! Give it a go!
Saskatoon Berry Recipes: Saskatoon Berry Dust for Wild Game Rubs or Pemmican!
It was making Pemmican with Chef Shane Chartrand as part of my Project 2017: Valerie Cooking in the Kitchen with You where I discovered Saskatoon berry dust. I dried the berries and made it effortlessly in my Thermomix. I may never make the pemmican again, but will definitely make this dust again. It is an intense, bright, distilation of the Saskatoon berry flavour. Stir it into yogurt, icings, sprinkle on anything and where it was deadly was as a rub on wild game. Oh, my. Didn’t photograph it so didn’t write about it. Trust me. This is a really delicious ingredient. I cannot wait to hear how others use it.
More recipes to come. Jellies, syrups, juices, sauces….
Please share your favourites here, and happy picking!
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