Huckleberry
Nothing quite compares to the sweet, tart complexity of flavor exploding in your mouth when you pop in the first handful of these tasty treats of the season.
Of course we are talking about finding fresh, ripe huckleberries, (vaccinium membranacueum). Whether coming across a few along the trail or discovering a loaded patch, the excitement of huckleberry picking is part of summer.
Wild huckleberries are notoriously difficult to grow in the garden. Most require highly specific mountainous environments, including specialized soil accidity and symbiotic relationships with underground mycorrhizae. They thrive on a complex root network of soil bacteria and fungi. Seldom reproducing via seeds. They usually spread by cloning itself from rhizomes or shots; which means an entire patch might be from one or two patent plants. (Similar to Aspen groves) this also contributes to why the shrubs don’t transplant well. Seeds to germinate if dispersed by animals, as evidenced by the shrubs growing on recovering sections of Mt. St. Helens.
Plants from germinated seeds can take up to 10 years to mature. Small urn shaped flowers bloom in spring, typically borne in clusters and are red, white or pink. Huckleberry is fire adapted to low intensity burns and wll resprout vigorously from rhizomes buried under the soil. OIn forests it often dominates the understory during early to mid stages of succession. Also growing at higher elevation, producing some of the tastiest fruit later in the season.
Typically, plump and purple the color varies depending on variety. The red huckleberry (vaccinium parviflorum) can be found primariy in the pacific northwest and the mountains of Montana and Idaho.
Whtever the color, huckleberries are as healthy as they are tasty. High in iron content., a good source of vitain C, rich in vitamins a and K, manganese and potassium. They can even have more of the purple pigments associated with antioxidants than blueberries, and have hight dietary fiver content. This very nutritious verry helps improve blood circulation, reduces cell damage, supports the immune system and promotes heart health.
Used extensively in baking and cooking, makes delicious jams and syrups, used to flavor everything from barbeque sauce, teas & coffees, chocolate and honey to just about anything including beer, wine and spirits.
Native to western North America, ranging from South Alaska, Yukon, NW territories to Utah and Northern California mountains next to the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills in the east. Native Americans relied on the fruit for thousands of years and still utilize it as an important cultural food.
Huckleberries are a key food source for both black and grizzly bears, which depend on the caloric content to fatten p for hibernation. Elk, moose, and deer browse on the plant. Thickets provide cover for many small animals which also eat the fruit, as well as many birds. Even coyotes and wolves are known to nibble just like dogs and many people pickers. Another juicy tidbit -
In the 19th century slang being a “huckleberry” meant you were a choice, perfect or uniquely capable person. The phrase, “I’m your huckleberry”, a way of expressing affection or indicating one to be the right person for the job in the song, “Moon River”. The line “my Huckleberry friend” is a reference to Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” novel and describes someone with whom you have an idyllic sor of friendship.
Montana has adopted this little burst of flavor as the state fruit. In 2023, when the state had no official fruit, a class of fourth graders from Vaughn decided to lobby the state legislature in Helena to make huckleberry the state fruit. A house bill was passed, and huckleberry became the official state fruit.
A fitting choice for Montana that has the grizzly bear as the state animal, which depends on huckleberries as a major food source. Huckleberry is also the state fruit of Idaho. As we venture out on our picking foray, remember to be bear aware. We share these delicacies with black and grizzly bears who need them for winter survival, in a year like this year with a low yielding crop, bear may be more defensive of the patches.
In lean years we can try picking fewer berries to help keep the bears in the berry patch and out of our yards.