Does anyone grow Saskatoon Berries? Recipe for a tart.

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there!

I was doing a bit of searching around & found this fruit I had never heard of!

As it appears to grow well in cold climates I wondered if any of you who live in the north grew it:-

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/

There is a good recipe for a tart using them on the following page

I haxe a great friend who lives in Yorkshire, much further north from me, who is looking for unusual fruit to grow.

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[Edited for your amusement (as to the judgement of those in authority ) -- this article is from one of our daily newspapers:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/...-took-Brussels-to-stop-us-being-so-silly.html

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:rose Hattie :rose

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Another name for it is serviceberry. I have a few native varieties, but those are not the cultivated ones that have sweeter berries. I have not tasted the cultivated berries.

 

[patandchickens]

They're not uncommon in much of Canada (as you might guess from the name ). You can buy factory-made Saskatoon pies in the grocery stores around here in, I dunno, August-ish?

I have a few bushes of the domesticated cultivars (not yet big enough to bear much) and some large-bushes-going-on-small-trees of the wild species... they are nice to pick and eat if you happen to be passing by at the right moment, but the birds are SO efficient at noticing each berry as it approaches ripeness that I can't imagine ever having enough for a pie or jam. I suppose I could try netting over them, but, enh.

As ornamentals they are WONDERFUL -- pretty (if short-lived) white apple-type flowers in spring, red/orange fall foliage, and attractive smooth light-grey bark year-round. Some types get straggly-shaped unless given attentive ongoing pruning but you can't kill 'em with a stick and I'd highly recommend them as ornamentals, especially to those in somewhat cold climates where your options are restricted (but even down in zones 6-7)

Pat