mmmm...huckleberries!!
@Masihi (4413)
Canada
September 10, 2011 6:53am CST
Hubby and I just discovered a new (er, well, new-to-us) berry called the huckleberry. And that the huckleberry is edible!!! I think they're in the same family as the blueberry. I was so excited, so we all as a family went picking a few days to get about 1 and a half large freezer bag of huckleberries. They have a slightly different flavour but nice, sweet, and juicy.
I then found this really cool website that'll give region-by-region in Canada/USA what kinds of edible plants/berries/mushrooms that I can use as a guide and as a starting point for research, too.
I took a picture (see below) of huckleberries still on the bush, it looks really lovely.
3 people like this
8 responses
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
10 Sep 11
Hey something new to me too. 
I looked at the picture and they absolutely look like blueberries. Wonder if I mistakenly at some point had them thinking they were blueberries. The picture is lovely indeed, thanks so much for sharing as now I have learned something new.
Each day here on myLot I do learn something new and this is officially the first thing I learned new today. 
I looked at the picture and they absolutely look like blueberries. Wonder if I mistakenly at some point had them thinking they were blueberries. The picture is lovely indeed, thanks so much for sharing as now I have learned something new.
Each day here on myLot I do learn something new and this is officially the first thing I learned new today.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
11 Sep 11
Hardworking, indeed Mylot is a great place to learn about new things. In my area here, we don't have these kinds of berries except strawberries. So, it is indeed wonderful to be able to eat and touch the real berries. How nice and special to be able to eat and touch these fresh berries rather than eating those canned berries.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
11 Sep 11
Maybe in future, when i have the chance to visit your country, i would like to buy some of those fresh berries for a try. I really admire and loves to eat fresh berries rather than those in the canned form. Hope you can bring me sight-seeing your area, Hardworking...
1 person likes this
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
11 Sep 11
Oh yes around me we have loads of supermarkets and fresh fruit markets and perhaps they have them in the stores. But maybe I was not tempted at the time because I can not recall ever purchasing and or eating them. But they look so fresh and identical to blueberries. So I will keep a close eye here on in.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6231)
• United States
10 Sep 11
I've only ever had huckleberries once, and that was while visiting a friend in Maine. She made some kind of jelly out of them, and I remember it was really good!! I don't think I've ever seen them in the area of Ohio that I live in. You're so right, it IS a lovely bush!
I'm a big fan of eating from the wild. There are some amazing plants out there that are edible. (One of my favorites is cattail bulbs! Yum!!) Next time you're at the local library, check out books by Euell Gibbons. I learned a lot from his guide books when I was younger, and my fave one was 'stalking the wild asparagus.'
2 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6231)
• United States
11 Sep 11
Cattails usually grow where the ground stays wet or damp. The edges of ponds usually have them. I'm pretty sure you'd know them if you saw them. They're tall and spiky leaves, and in the fall they have like a brown cylinder at the top. As fall goes further on, the brown part kind of explodes and white fiber-y stuff (like cotton fluff) comes out. It's said that there isn't a part of a cattail that's not edible depending on the time of the year. The Indians used to use the dried spiky leaves for basket making too. Have a great weekend bagarad!
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169564)
• United States
11 Sep 11
We had something my friend called garden huckleberries, but I am not sure she was right. I will have to see your picture. I got raspberry and black berry plants from freecycle today. Looking forward to next year. I enjoyed talking with the lady I got them from.
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@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Sep 11
The variety we have here in Nova Scotia is the black huckleberry variety. http://northernbushcraft.com/topic.php?name=black+huckleberry®ion=ns&ctgy=edible_berries This will show what we have in our province. If you just go to northern bushcraft.com you`ll be able to find your own region`s edible goodies :-)
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
10 Sep 11
Yummy...They look delicious, then again I don't think there is an edible berry I don't like..Are these easier or harder to grow than blueberries? I have debating on buying blueberry bushes, but I don't think my zone is good, I think they need a cooler zone.
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
13 Sep 11
Cool, maybe I have can afford to purchase a few bushes this year..Thanks for the info..:)
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
11 Sep 11
Hi Masihi, how are you? So far i haven't have the chance to eat and even touch the huckleberry in my area. In fact, i am not sure whether my warm climate fit to plant that type of berries or not. Usually, i am only able to taste those huckleberries in the canned form. I think it should be tastes more delicious if we are to pluck and eat those fresh berries. What are you going to do with those fresh huckleberries? Are you going to make them into jam as well?
1 person likes this
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 11
So far, i am only able to taste the strawberries direct from the farm, while i am visiting the Strawberry farm. It is indeed delicious and juicy, when we pluck and eat directly fresh from the trees. Even i had tasted fresh papaya, rambutan and mangoes. Canned huckleberries usually came in jam form, where i can used it as bread spread.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Sep 11
Oh, it`s absolutely delicious right off the bush. I never knew you can purchase canned huckleberries, but I don`t think they`re popular here in Nova Scotia, so around here there`s really not many people eating them. Same as rosehips. Very few people eat them around here as well.
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
11 Sep 11
Huckleberries were new to me too until a few years ago. We were on vacation and Idaho was one of the states we visited. They are big on huckelberry everything...jam, pancakes, etc. And I just expected potatoes
I think huckleberries taste ok but frankly they are so different aand I am not used to them so I wasn't crazy about them.
I think huckleberries taste ok but frankly they are so different aand I am not used to them so I wasn't crazy about them.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Sep 11
Idaho actually has the huckleberry as the official provincial fruit (er state fruit). I would love to experiment with huckleberries. So far I`ve made huckleberry-blueberry-blackberry jam and pie, but I would love to try just a huckleberry pie.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 11
I have never had huckleberries. I am not even sure if they are available here in Australia. I will have to look into it. If they are then they are probably a colder area fruit and not found here where I am I imagine.
I remember Huckleberry Finn if that helps!
1 person likes this
Dare to venture out into the wild, then, my boy!
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
11 Sep 11
I haven't seen or tasted a huckleberry that I know of, but I'd like to. I think berries are pretty easy to identify with a book or web site, but I'd be afraid to trust myself to properly identify edible mushrooms, since a mistake could be deadly. I do have several books describing wild edible plants and how to use them. I'm going to try to make better use of what God has planted here in my yard next year.
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@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Sep 11
Yes, I want to do the same thing myself, and I can understand being nervous of trying things you`re unfamiliar with. This is my first year of venturing out into the wild so to speak. Mushrooms I think are a bit more trickier - and much more deadlier if you make a mistake, plus they have very little nutritional value in them.
