The lore of huckleberries: How to pick them

Are you ready for a huckleberry hunt? Harvesting huckleberries should be a pleasant, joyful experience. To avoid chronic back pain, sprained ankles and painful sunburn, experienced huckleberry pickers dress wisely. They wear shoes with a good grip, strong long pants (blue or other dark-colored jeans are ideal), and a shirt that can tolerate purple batik created by squashed huckleberries.

Lightweight long sleeves are good, and so is a cap, especially if your head is as bald as mine. It makes an excellent target for mosquitoes, and it can easily burn when picking on a sunny hillside. Likewise, carrying an insect repellent may reward the picker with hours of comfort.

Although some pickers speed up the process by using a rake box, the vast majority of us prefer to pick by hand. This way, we can ensure a harvest of ripe berries and leave the forest without feeling like plunderers. I have encountered the sad sight of bushes stripped by raking and it is something I refuse to do.

You can pick into a coffee can, tin cup, plastic bucket or whatever comes in handy. I remember picking into an impromptu basket made from a shirt once when we forgot to bring the proper picking utensils. Be creative!

My wife came up with a handy invention: She washes out an empty plastic gallon juice or milk jug, cuts an opening opposite the handle, then leads the belt through the handle to strap it to her waist. It works very well! You can pick with both hands, or lift a branch with one hand while picking with the other. As we know, huckleberries have a sense of humor – they hide under the leaves. Using this tip, there is also less chance to spill your precious berries.

Please, allow yourself plenty of time when you go to pick huckleberries. Don’t get stressed out by looking at your watch all the time. It is so sad when you must leave a “jackpot bush” because you have to go to another appointment.

Something to remember – where there are huckleberries, there may be bears, too. Although I have done it myself, it is not a good idea to go picking berries alone. You never know what might happen, so we must take precautions and avoid potentially dangerous situations. Venture into the forest with other people, especially the chatty ones, because bears don’t like to be surprised. Let them hear you first. Be informed and follow instructions about what to do and not to do in a bear habitat.

It is important to observe safety, follow common sense, and have the right attitude. So, find them, pick them and love every minute of it!

Huckleberry warfare

There is a campground area where huckleberries ripen early in the summer. If you have a hankering for a fresh huckleberry pie, that’s the place to go. For years, the early harvest has been enjoyed by campers and locals alike. We left the campsites alone but considered the areas across the path, edging the forest, up for grabs.

This friendly arrangement ended one summer with the arrival of a new campground host who considered the whole perimeter off limits to the nonpaying populace. The older woman made it her life’s mission to catch huckleberry pickers in the act. Charging around in her golf cart, she yelled at the locals to chase them away. She even pointed her accusing finger at me and would not listen to clear reason nor fuzzy excuses. I was told in no uncertain terms I was not welcome.

Well! I had to abandon a huckleberry patch to a grizzly bear once but was not about to surrender this one to a mean old campground host. The situation escalated to an exciting challenge. We went home and changed into camouflage clothing. Our son Paul even painted his face, and we went back, picking very quietly, observing the territory with the eye of a sniper.

The campground host went around from campsite to campsite, interrogating the campers to find out if they had seen those pesky berry pickers. Occasionally, someone would point in our direction and the golf cart stormed forward to intercept the daring intruders.

Let me tell you something: The old lady might have been a zealous campground host, but she knew nothing of guerilla warfare. Whenever she came near, the boys hugged the ground making themselves invisible. Once she came within 12 feet of us but could not see us hiding behind the trees. After she left in frustration, we continued to fill our cups, occasionally engaging in sinister laughter. The pie tasted sinfully delicious that evening.

Huckleberry Lemon Bread

2 cups all–purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup sugar

½ stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup avocado oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

⅔ cup milk, room temperature

Freshly grated zest & juice from 1 medium lemon

1 heaping cup of huckleberries

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, then combine with milk, melted butter & oil, egg, extracts, lemon juice and zest. Toss huckleberries with extra flour and gently fold into batter. When using frozen huckleberries, spread them on paper towels, pat-dry, coat with flour and immediately put into batter. Transfer batter into a greased & floured 9-by-5-inch bread pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about an hour. Test with a toothpick to make sure it is done. Allow to cool before removing bread from the pan and slicing.

Yield: Eight to 10 servings

Easy Huckleberry Ice Cream

2 cups frozen huckleberries, thawed, with juice

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ gallon store-bought vanilla ice cream

Mix sugar and cornstarch. Combine with huckleberries and lemon juice in a small saucepan. When using fresh huckleberries add ⅓ cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens. Cool completely. Place vanilla ice cream in a refrigerator to soften, just enough to mix. Empty it into a bowl. Pour the cooled huckleberry sauce over ice cream and mix well. Transfer to a container and freeze until firm.

(For richer color, mash or puree the huckleberries before cooking them).

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

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