That purple berry that once grew prolifically in pastures and along the side of grid roads is known in other parts of the continent by various names.
Those names include serviceberry, maycherry, juneberry, shadbush, shadblossom, pigeonberry, pembina plum, sugar pear, lance wood, bill berry, Canadian medlar and rocky mountain blueberry.
Back here at home we are content to talk about our love for saskatoon berries and seniors always have stories to tell about their exploits in the pastures where maybe they didn’t have the owner’s permission to fill their buckets with wild prairie saskatoons.
And of course there’s the stories from youngsters who claimed, “no I didn’t eat any berries” when the purple lips told a different story.
This week’s recipes using saskatoon berries come from the World of Baking Cookbook.
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Saskatoon Berry Chiffon Pie
9 inch pie shell, baked
1 1/2 envelopes unflavoured gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
4 large eggs, separated
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 pints fresh saskatoon berries
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
Soften the gelatin in the cold water.
In a small saucepan, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice and rind and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon.
Remove from heat and add the softened gelatin. Stir to blend and dissolve the gelatin.
Whirl the berries in a blender until pureed. This should make 1 cup of puree.
Stir into the gelatin mixture and mix gently but thoroughly. Chill until mixture just mounds slightly.
Beat the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar gradually and beat until stiff peaks form.
Whip the cream.
Fold the egg whites into the gelatin mixture and then add the whipped cream.
Turn into the baked pie shell and chill until firm. If desired, top with whipped cream and ripe saskatoon berries.
Note: blueberries may be substituted for saskatoons.
• • •
Saskatoon Loaf
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 3/4 cups milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tbsps. baking powder
2 cups fresh saskatoon berries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Combine sugar, butter, milk and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed just until well blended.
Sift together the dry ingredients. Add the berries and pecans and carefully stir them through the dry ingredients.
Stir the berry mixture into the sugar and butter mixture just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened.
Pour into two well-buttered loaf pans and let stand 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour or until browned and done. Test centres with a toothpick to ensure loaves are cooked.
Note: blueberries may be substituted for saskatoons.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
