Garden Huckleberries- when to pick, how to use, etc?

[bills]

Hmm..I didn't know the Garden variety differed so much from the wild..until I looked it up..interesting..wonder how the name Huckleberry got affixed to this plant. Good article on them..

http://www.liseed.org/solanunusual.html

 

[cwhit590]

Hmm..I didn't know the Garden variety differed so much from the wild..until I looked it up..interesting..wonder how the name Huckleberry got affixed to this plant. Good article on them..

http://www.liseed.org/solanunusual.html

Good link!
That says a pinch of baking soda removes biterness....maybe THAT'S the secret to cooking w/ them.

 

[seedcorn]

Grew them this year. Started the very late but they come on like gang busters. Loaded. Made my first pie with them. It’s never going to replace wild huckleberries but I thought enough that I’m going to can 6-7 quarts to use in pies later, First key is to allow them to ripen until they don’t glisten black. Next key is a 10 minute boil with baking soda-they do put off a slight offensive odor. Green foam everywhere. Rinse. Then a boil with lemon juice added to soften. It’s all on the Internet. Haven’t decided IF I’ll grow them again next year.

 

[Zeedman]

My plants were stunted (along with everything else in the rural garden) but recovered enough to be 1/2 of the size I saw in SSE's gardens. Still loaded with a heavy fruit set, the berries hold for a remarkable time on the plant (only a few have dried). True to accounts I've heard from others, neither bird nor rodent has touched them - so maybe they won't become a weed, as ground cherry, tomatillo, & litchi tomato already have. I've been waiting for a frost to harvest them... which is already a week overdue, and not even in the 10-day forecast. Thanks for the tips, @seedcorn , I'm looking forward to trialing their culinary usefulness. Maybe I'll mix them in a pie with the copious amount of ground cherries that are curing, which could add some flavor.

An interesting plant for Fall decorations, if nothing else.

 

[seedcorn]

It hasn’t frosted here yet. I picked the duller berries that had some “give” to them. I tried the “jam” stage before putting in the pie crust (I did a terrible job in that) was unimpressed. One writer said theirs got tough skins after day 1-mine didn’t but I boiled it longer than 20 minutes with lemon. I believe the pie had better flavor after day 1. It lasted 2 days & it was gone.....

Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

[flowerbug]

...
An interesting plant for Fall decorations, if nothing else.

wild birdie food?

 

[Zeedman]

wild birdie food?

Birds seem completely uninterested in those berries. Especially odd, given that they feed on buckthorn berries nearby, which are also black & shiny. But then, they don't feed on the litchi tomato berries either... maybe they just don't recognize them as food. Or they know something we don't?

 

[flowerbug]

Birds seem completely uninterested in those berries. Especially odd, given that they feed on buckthorn berries nearby, which are also black & shiny. But then, they don't feed on the litchi tomato berries either... maybe they just don't recognize them as food. Or they know something we don't?

they may be food later in the winter, if the plant holds them or the berries fall and end up as seeds for foraging later. i really don't know for sure with these plants, but if they are human edible then they're also likely birdie edible even if they end up being a later winter snack.

 

[seedcorn]

Made the second pie. Giving the extra time gave the berries much better flavor. Thought I added enough corn starch but should have added more. Other than that, has a real blueberry flavor.

 

[seedcorn]

@Zeedman have you used them yet? If so, thoughts?