The wild berries of my summer

My son grazing on wild raspberries

As a kid, I remember my dad taking us around the property and through the woods and on our journeys he would show us new wild berries to enjoy. I never forgot the ground berries, the salmon berries, the huckleberries or the blackberries (to name a few) and now that my kids are growing up I decided to share these simple pleasures with my own kids.

This summer we came back from our travels to visit family and friends and it gave me the perfect opportunity to show them the abundance that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

DISCLAIMER: While many of us have eaten wild edibles without problem and enjoyed them, make sure you know what you’re doing and that you can correctly identify the berry/fruit/plant that you plan on using/eating. Also, be aware of family allergies and sensitivities. Basically, know what you’re doing before you do it. In most areas there are experts and courses or classes that will help you identify and enjoy what is available in our fields and forests.

Here are a few of the berries we enjoyed.

Wild raspberries. Although these guys are midgets in comparison to store bought ones, I find that they pack a punch. I’d say they have the same, if not double the flavor of store bought raspberries.

Bunch berries. OK, so these guys were never shown me as a kid, but they’re edible. That’s pretty much all I can say positive about them. The don’t have a lot of flavor and there is a large seed in the middle of each ones. Still, I’d been wanting to try them for a while.

Wild Strawberries. Of course, these are another berry in league with the wild raspberries. Tiny, sweet and delicious. There was a whole field of these at our friends’ house. The kids wandered through the plants gorging themselves on these fellows. The stains on their knees showed that they missed a fair few!

Were berries a staple in your childhood diet? If so, what was your favorite?