What Does Huckleberry Taste Like? - Answers Everyday

Huckleberries comprise a family of about 70 different species of fruit-bearing plant that grows around the world. But when people talk about huckleberries they are almost always referring to a delicious, sweet berry that grows in the wild in North America, mostly in the northwestern United States and western Canada.

Many people have heard of huckleberries but they don’t know what they taste like. Huckleberries are closely related to blueberries but they are sweeter and can be more tart than wild blueberries. Because of the way huckleberries are processed their natural sweetness may be enhanced by added sugar and pectin. People who love blueberries are often impressed by the rich natural flavor of huckleberries.

Huckleberry Taste Is Influenced by Where It Grows

Nourished by rich, acidic volcanic soils, the wild huckleberries that drive people (and bears) crazy grow above 2,000 feet elevation in the deep woods. No one has yet been able to cultivate huckleberries in large quantities so commercial farming does not exist. People plan whole trips into the national forests around the simple task of finding these berries and harvesting them before the bears and the birds get to them.

Don’t worry, the bears don’t go hungry, although some people have reported occasional run-ins with wild creatures including bears and mountain lions while picking huckleberries.

Traditional berry enthusiasts pick the berries by hand but this back-breaking, hours-long laborious work. Most harvesters now use little scrape boxes with teeth (rather like prongs) that grab large quantities of berries without hurting the bushes.

Why Northwest Huckleberries Taste So Sweet

In their natural state huckleberries are a bit tart but they are still very delicious. When prepared according to standard recipes for making jams, pancakes, cake filling, pie fillings, syrups, and other familiar food products the huckleberries are cooked with sugar, which brings out the sweetness. If you were to compare huckleberries to blueberries (and they are indeed “cousins”) you would find that the huckleberries are smaller and sweeter than blueberries.

Blueberries are a very popular fruit and they have been integrated to hundreds of recipes. The rule of thumb when cooking with huckleberries is that you can usually do anything with them that you would do with blueberries, but use somewhat less sugar.

Where You Can Learn More about Huckleberries

Huckleberry enthusiasts love to blog about these delicious berries and in some cases they will even go out of their ways to tell you where and how to buy them. Of course, you can buy huckleberries on the Internet and most people probably do that nowadays, although there are many wonderful little huckleberry festivals scattered across the Northwest that travelers are sure to enjoy running into.

Huckleberry festivals are usually held over weekends in August through September, when huckleberries are in season. You’re like to find huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry pie, huckleberry cake, huckleberry pancakes, and many similar comfort food dishes you’re very familiar with; all of them are delicious and packed with fresh huckleberries.

If you ever have a chance to try food made with huckleberries, you should. Huckleberry muffins and huckleberry cupcakes are great ways to introduce people to the world of huckleberry addiction. Just be sure to buy more than one, however, because you won’t be able to get enough once you start eating these fantastic dishes.

If you are curious about what to try making with huckleberries, check out some huckleberry recipes sites for ideas and you should have no real problem working out a plan. Now you just need to find some huckleberries to see what they taste like for yourself!

Have a great journey into culinary delight and welcome to the world of huckleberries!

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