Salmonberries

Picked berries or "party in a bowl"

Being a country girl, I have spent plenty of time waging battle with vicious briars and risking the serious discomfort of chiggers for the yummy goodness to be found in blackberries.  I suppose I inherited the satisfaction that comes from bringing home treasures from nature since my dad was actually picking blackberries when I was born.  He simply enjoys the picking part, I on the other hand endure the picking part for the those little black bundles of goodness.  They are yummy in jelly, they are yummy in pie, and they are especially yummy with a little sugar on waffles.  This summer, however, I was a little dejected because I didn't get to pick any blackberries.  I didn't have the time to spare to pick them and was actually a little relieved it was too dry for them to be worth picking.

Little did I know, I had a little surprise waiting for me in Alaska:  salmonberries!  The plants and berries are very similar so they are clearly related to the blackberry.  Blackberries, though, have giant thorns that reach out and grab you, while the salmonberries have small stickers that I didn't really notice.  Salmonberries also come in two varieties with two different colors which can make determining ripeness a little challenging, but that brings the effect one website I ran across described as looking like a "party in a bowl".  You also don't have to worry about running across ticks, or chiggers, or snakes while picking them.  I kept finding myself stepping very slowly and looking in the bushes for snakes as I picked.  Then I would have to remind myself that I am in Alaska.  There are no snakes.  Only bears.  Then a really strong wind came through and stirred the bushes up while I was picking and gave me a moment of panic as I thought a bear might make me dinner.  Since there was not bear, I was able to make the berries my dinner.  They have a hint of a blackberry flavor to them with a mixture of a floral flavor as well making for a very yummy, and festive pie.

Salmonberry pie

And it's still festive