MOUNTAIN THIMBLEBERRIES (Rubus parviflorus) don’t have much of a shelf life, usually falling apart in your hand, which is why you never see them for sale. They’re a wild treat, meant to be enjoyed in the wild.
Or you can make jam. They’re naturally high in pectin, so all you need is a 1:1 ratio of sugar to berries and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice, depending on the size of your batch.
First, boil the berries to desired viscosity, then add the sugar and lemon and bring to a boil for a minute. You might get some foam at the top; skim off if you wish. The jam is now ready to be ladled into sterilized jars for canning. Secure the lids and give the jars a 10-minute bath in boiling water.
We saw lots of those yesterday while picking huckleberries, but they were so ripe they just disintegrated on your fingers on the way to your mouth.(mush city) Picking for later use would have been impossible. Hey Fin, do you have a recipe you like for huckleberry jam? Also have you perfected your huckleberry pancake recipe yet? Wanna send it to me???
Hey Mary! I’ll be experimenting with huck jam recipes soon and will let you know. As for pancakes, I confess to being unhappy with all the pancakes I’ve ever made–they’re never good enough to post. My friend Kenan, when he’s not subsisting on dry martinis and cow, is an expert pancake man and I plan to draft him into a guest FOTL spot. Stay tuned… BTW, how’s the Montana mushroom picking???
Last week while hacking back a neighbor’s intruding brambles I spotted one plant with a few ripe, tasty pink berries that disintegrated just like you describe. Any idea if thimble berries grow in the city? Needless to say, I left the plant growing there.
We’ve had absolutely NO rain in my neck of the woods so no mushrooms at all around here. I know west central MT has had plenty of recent rains so they may be starting to find some shrooms, but nada around here! I’ve just been fishing and berry picking. I have an invite to go pick chanties in WA (east side) but I can’t decide whether to do the fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver or go pick chants. Such a dilemma…need to do the show for biz but need the chants for winter!!! hmmmm