[Sca-cooks] My Party Under the Rock

[Sue Clemenger]

Huckleberries...uhm....trying to describe them to someone who's never
tasted them is a bit like trying to describe (oops, never mind...g-rated
list <g>).
The ones I'm familiar with are members of the vaccinium genus [part of
the heath family??] (vaccinium ovatum, according to one website), like
bilberries and cranberries and blueberries.  They're a berry that only
grows wild, as far as I know, and only above certain elevations and in
certain climates/soil conditions.  The bushes are usually no taller than
knee-high, and the berries are often about the size of your *average*
cranberry--the monster ones, though can get as big as my thumbnail.  The
berries are predominantly purple, although the shades vary from a
distinct reddish color to a very blue-y purple. They stain your hands
and clothing pretty good, too <g>. They usually have several very tiny
seeds.  There are, apparently, a number of varieties of huckleberries,
but the ones I know and love are the ones that grow half-way up a
mountainside (i.e., several thousand feet above sea level) in a somewhat
spacious forest (lots of pine, spruce, etc., lots of ground cover, tree
canopy providing some but not full shade).
Because of their habitat, they can be hard to find, and it is very
labor-intensive work to harvest them.  But, ohmygod, they taste
*divine*--kinda like a tart, souped-up version of a blueberry (which I
don't even try to eat, they taste so bland).  They're wonderful in cold
pies, hot pies, muffins, pancakes (especially sourdough), icecream,
jams, etc....
Kind of a regional thing, I guess (I live right smack-dab in the middle
of the Rocky Mountains, in Montana, near where I grew up), which is why
I volunteered to bring them to HM's "party."  Other folks on the list
have mentioned regional specialty foods in their parts of the Known
World, and hucks are one of ours.
In addition to being wonderful treats for human beings, they're also a
very important source of nutrition for critters (deer, bear, etc.), so I
try not to buy the commercial "huckleberry products" you see for sale
everywhere around here.  Commercial pickers have actually been so bad
and so numerous, that the dependent critters actually haven't been
always able to get enough to eat.
If I ever make it to Pennsic, I'll be sure to bring some jars of
huckleberry jam to share.
--Maire (some of my very most favorite memories ever involve going huck
picking with my Dad ;-)

Linda Peterson wrote:
>

> So what is a huckleberry like-the closest I've ever been to one is the
> cartoon? Where do they grow?