Today’s post is brought to you by my stomach. I moved to the Pacific Northwest three years ago and have really missed being able to use my well-honed natural foraging skills when I was in the Florida woods or Everglades. I’ve learned a lot in the last three years, and I’m still learning, but not enough to figure out how long I will live in a subtropical area. I have a few favorites that I see often. The one I’m about to talk about is very common everywhere, but especially in the woods across the street from my house. It’s the famous salmonberry.
Salmonberries are a tasty and healthy wild berry that grows in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Salmonberries don’t show up as often in grocery stores as blueberries or raspberries, but their sour taste makes them great for jams, desserts, and eating right off the vine. Here is everything you need to know about salmonberries, from how to tell them apart to where to find them to how to store them.
What are Salmonberries?
Salmonberries also known as thimbleberries or Alaskan berries, are a species of bramble fruit in the rose family. Their scientific name is Rubus spectabilis. They are native to the west coast of North America ranging from central Alaska down to northern California.
Salmonberries grow on a shrub that can reach 5-10 feet tall The leaves are green and toothed. The flowers are pink or purple The fruit resembles a raspberry in shape, about 1-2 centimeters wide. However, unlike raspberries which are red, salmonberries can range in color from yellow, orange, pink, red, to even purple. Their naming comes from the common salmon-orange hue of the berries.
Salmonberries are one of the first wild fruits to be available because they ripen in the spring and early summer. They fruit heavily with each shrub producing hundreds of berries. Birds, bears, and other animals in the wild rely on salmonberries as a main source of food.
Where Do Salmonberries Grow?
Salmonberries grow natively in coastal temperate rainforests ranging from Alaska to Northern California. Some of the best regions to find wild salmonberries include:
- Pacific Northwest: Oregon, Washington, British Columbia
- Alaska: Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Southeast Alaska
- West Coast: Northern California
Salmonberries prefer partly sunny locations and moist, rich soil. You can often find them growing along rivers, streams, coastal forests, and mountainsides. They thrive in disturbed areas and open spaces in the forests.
If you live outside the natural growing range, you may be able to plant salmonberry shrubs in your yard. They can be grown successfully in zones 5-9. Provide moist, well-draining soil and partial shade.
Are Salmonberries Edible?
Yes, absolutely! Salmonberries are edible and delicious. Native peoples like the Haida have traditionally harvested and eaten salmonberries for centuries.
The berries can be eaten fresh straight off the bush. They have a sweet yet tart, tangy flavor reminiscent of rhubarb. The berries contain many tiny edible seeds that give them texture.
Salmonberry shoots and leaves are also edible. The young shoots can be harvested in spring and eaten raw or cooked.
While delicious fresh, salmonberries also make excellent jams, jellies, syrups, juices, wines, baked goods, and other prepared foods. Their high pectin content makes them ideal for jam.
Compared to cultivated berries, wild salmonberries tend to be smaller and tangier in flavor. But their unique taste is loved by many.
How to Eat Salmonberries
Salmonberries are highly versatile edible berries that can be enjoyed in many ways:
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Fresh – Pluck ripe berries straight from the bush and enjoy raw as a tasty trailside snack.
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Jams & Jellies – Cook down berries with sugar to make sweet spreads. Salmonberry jam highlights their tangy flavor.
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Syrups – Simmer mashed berries into a fruit syrup. Use to top yogurt, pancakes, ice cream, and more.
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Juice & Wine – Press berries into juice. Ferment the juice into country-style wines.
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Baked goods – Add to muffins, breads, crisps, pies, scones. Pairs well with oats, nuts, cornmeal.
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Ice Cream & Sorbet – Blend into fruity desserts. Salmonberry sorbet is refreshing.
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Salads – Toss whole berries into green salads for tangy flair. Works well in fruit salads too.
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Drinks – Muddle into lemonade, sangria, and cocktails for a berry twist.
How to Harvest Wild Salmonberries
If you live in an area where salmonberries grow wild, here are some tips for harvesting them:
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Look for shrubs growing in disturbed areas, trailsides, edges of forests, along rivers.
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Harvest from late spring to early summer when berries are ripe.
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Gently pluck ripe fruits into a container. Don’t crush or squash them.
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Avoid picking berries right next to the roadside. Better to go deeper into the woods.
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Don’t harvest all the berries. Leave some for wildlife and the future.
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Bring ziplock bags and Tupperware to transport your harvest.
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Watch out for thorns on the canes which can scratch you.
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Rinse and enjoy your wild bounty!
Where to Buy Salmonberries
If you don’t live near wild salmonberries, you can purchase them:
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At farmers markets in the Pacific Northwest during spring and early summer.
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From specialty grocers in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon.
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Online mail-order from salmonberry jam makers and preserves producers.
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Foraged frozen salmonberries can sometimes be found through online specialty food marketplaces.
However, fresh salmonberries remain difficult to find outside their native growing regions. Most people purchase salmonberry products like jam, jelly, syrup, juice rather than the fresh fruit.
How to Store Salmonberries
Fresh salmonberries are highly perishable like other berries. To extend their short shelf life:
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Refrigerate promptly in a shallow container, don’t wash until ready to eat.
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Eat within 2-3 days for best quality and flavor.
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Freeze on a sheet pan first, then transfer to bags or containers. Frozen up to 1 year.
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Preserve through canning, jamming, fermenting, dehydrating. Storage time varies.
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Juice and freeze the liquid. Frozen juice keeps 6-12 months.
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Buy commercially frozen or preserved products for longest storage.
Enjoy salmonberries quickly after harvest. Preserve them to savor their unique tangy flavor all year long. With their short season, these special berries are a tasty treat!
Salmonberry Blossom at Sea-Level, Olympia WA
The common salmonberry is a somewhat “viney” shrub that grows in damp to wet forests from sea level to pretty high elevations in the West Coast mountains. It is only native to Washington, Oregon, Northern California, parts of Idaho, British Columbia, and Alaska. There are so many of them that I’ve seen them grow and bloom near alpine lakes at the very top of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington’s Cascade Mountains, not far from Puget Sound. Some of the best places to find them are near streams and creeks, where they get some shade from bigger conifers like Douglas firs, western red cedars, and western hemlocks. In these rich, moist soils, they can grow up to 6 to 8 feet tall, and sometimes up to 12 feet. In early spring, they bloom in huge clusters of bright pink to magenta flowers, making them one of the first woodland flowers in the Pacific Northwest. The flowers quickly ripen by late spring or early summer. Their sparsely thorny, woody, weak stems make them easy to spot when they’re not in flower or fruit. By late fall and into winter, the stems will turn brown and become even more brittle.
Salmonberries are vitally important for many of the denizens of their varying habitats. Wildlife like deer, elk, moose, mountain goats, rabbits, porcupines, and even beavers eat the leaves and new green shoots. Birds, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, bears, chipmunks, pikas, raccoons, and many more forests animals love the fruits. Insects, hummingbirds, and bees depend on these early spring sources of nectar (sugar calories) to stay alive.
These bright, slightly watery fruits were also important to people in the past. Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest used the fresh berries as raw fruit, mixed with oolichan grease (the fat from the candlefish, a local fish that looks like a smelt), or just eaten with fresh salmon mixed with roe. This is because the berries were ripe at the same time that Chinook salmon started their great spring runs up the rivers to spawn, which is where the name “salmonberry” came from. Tender shoots were peeled and eaten for their sugary sweetness, and the leaves were eaten raw or steamed.
Some Salmonberries can be Bright Red or Even Purple!
You may not know this, but the salmonberry we know is actually made up of drupelets. These are groups of small berries, each with its own seed, that form a single cluster from one flower, just like raspberries and blackberries.
What are Salmonberries? | Fruits You Probably Never Heard Of | Ep. 2
FAQ
What does a salmonberry taste like?
Are salmon berries good for you?
Is the salmonberry plant edible?
Why are salmon berries not farmed?
Are salmonberries safe to eat?
Although salmonberries are considered safe to consume for most people, one should be aware of the potential risks associated with foraging wild edible berries: Identification: Misidentification of wild berries can lead to consuming toxic berries. It’s crucial that foragers are able to correctly identify salmonberries.
Is fresh salmon safe to eat?
Yes, salmon is a source of omega 3, the fatty acid is responsible for acting in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, making the heart strong and healthy. Just be careful to analyze the supplier to make sure it doesn’t have any contamination.
Can you eat salmonberries raw?
Whatever the real story behind their name, these berries are a delicious delicacy of early spring. While you can eat salmonberries raw, many people don’t enjoy all the edible seeds salmonberries contain. The most popular way to consume salmonberries is to turn them into jams or jellies. After washing the berries, boil them over medium to low heat.
Can you eat ripe salmonberries?
Salmonberries can be picked in the wild and are best eaten the day they are picked, according to Farm to School Alaska. Ripe salmonberries are often orange-to-red in color. Don’t over-handle these fragile fruits, and don’t wash them unless they are visibly dirty.