The lore of huckleberries: Our first discovery

My wife Julie and I love huckleberries. Our decadeslong love affair with the treasured fruit of the Northwest forest began shortly after moving to North Idaho from Hawaii back in 1983. We encountered huckleberries for the first time while sightseeing on Gleason Mountain near Priest Lake.

It was a warm summer afternoon, a perfect day to drive up the bumpy dirt road and enjoy the scenery becoming increasingly beautiful with each curve leading us higher. Before we reached the top, a clear area on the left offered good parking to take pictures. The views were incredible – the forest stretching out as far as you can see, the distant lake glistening in the sun, and wildflowers adding richness to the scene.

While I was engaged in photography, a compact car came charging up the road. It parked right behind us and two elderly ladies got out with buckets in their hands.

“I wonder what they’re up to?” I asked myself as the women turned toward the hillside. It didn’t take long for the “Aha!” moment to come when I spotted the first bushes loaded with big shiny black huckleberries. We were instantly hooked. A frantic search of our car yielded only two small paper bags. Filling them in no time, we drove home, stopping first at a store to pick up a few ingredients. That evening I made a batch of huckleberry jam with a touch of sherry and entered a jar in the Idaho Huckleberry Festival bake-off competition in Priest River. Amazingly, it won the first prize in its category and a second overall. Life hasn’t been the same since.

Many huckleberry -picking adventures followed, with more stories to share. Later, huckleberries even became part of our ministry. We shared freshly baked huckleberry muffins with visitors to the church Julie and I founded at Priest Lake. Moving on to other places, we served congregations in different states until retirement, but huckleberries continue to have their special place in our hearts. Now we look forward to our annual huckleberry expeditions to the Northwest with our family and creating new recipes.

Why huckleberries? Well, it’s the gentle breeze whispering through the forest. Breathing the piney air. Warm sunshine in search of luscious huckleberries. Blessed tranquility interrupted only by your child’s excited voice, “Dad! I found a jackpot!” Life is good …

Where to find them

Some years ago we operated Huckleberry Haus Bakery & Gift Shop to support our ministry at Priest Lake. We baked huckleberry pies, pastries, and made other goodies, like huckleberry jam, syrup and barbecue sauce. It required a lot of work, but we had fun doing it and met lots of nice people in the process. Then, every so often, someone would stop by the store and ask that dreadful question: “Hey! Where can we find huckleberries around here?”

“Oh, they are all over,” I would answer. “Just take any Forest Service road, pull over occasionally, walk around and you will find them. If you don’t go too fast, you may even spot some huckleberry bushes from your vehicle.”

Now, this was not just a polite way of saying, “Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies.” This is actually how I find huckleberry patches. And if the inquirer’s face looked innocent enough, I would, on occasion, be even more specific. Most huckleberry pickers, however, prefer to keep the location of their patches a secret. They would not disclose the coordinates even under torture. Asking them to reveal it is considered impolite and producing only ambiguous answers.

Here are a few examples:

“Huckleberries? Oh, they are here and there.”

“There, in the forest! Good luck!”

“There are no huckleberries this year. We had a late frost.”

“You have to go way up high. Do you have a Jeep?”

“I heard there were some by Tango Creek, but a busload of city folks came and picked them all.”

Listen: If you are serious about finding huckleberries, don’t waste your time asking the locals. Stop at the Forest Service Office and inquire there. They will gladly direct you to some good huckleberry patches – probably mine. See you there!

Cream Cheese Huckleberry Muffins

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ stick unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 egg, lightly beaten

⅔ cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. In a bowl mix the softened cream cheese with butter, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix in egg, then milk. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring just enough to moisten. Pat-dry huckleberries with paper towels and gently fold into batter. Spoon into paper-lined muffin pan, equally dividing. Bake at 400 degrees for about 22 minutes.

Yields: One dozen muffins

Huckleberry Haus Pie

Pastry for two single pie crusts

4 cups huckleberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons corn starch

¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

Combine sugar and corn starch. Mix with huckleberries and lemon juice. Cook in an enamel-cast iron saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract.

Poke the bottom crust with a fork and pour filling into it. Roll out the second crust and cut strips about ¾-inch wide. Place five strips over filling. Lay the second set of strips across the first. (If you are skilled at latticing, weave the strips). Fold and flute the edge. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Cool to room temperature and serve with whipped cream.

Yields: 6-8 servings

Stan Simonik is a retired pastor and the author of “Huckleberry Haus Cookbook – New Revised Edition,” with over 120 huckleberry recipes and a section of huckleberry picking tales and harvesting tips. The book is available from huckleberryhauspublishing.com for $ 14.95 and free shipping.