Everything you need to know about the process, the history, and the benefits
A large, sweet purple berry bursting with antioxidants, this fruit is often eaten fresh. Huckleberries are equally appetizing made into various tasty foods and beverages, including jam, pudding, pie, muffins, pancakes, and syrup.
Elderberries thrive in mild to subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and from around August to September are in season and ready for picking. They are small, purplish-black fruit, and hang in clusters on small shrubs.
Gooseberries can be very sharp or very sweet in taste, and they’re delicious eaten fresh. They can be used as an ingredient in pies, jams, wines, and syrups. A special treat is pairing the berries with oily fish (salmon, perhaps) and seasonal greens.
Native to Europe, Asia, and North America, gooseberries are ready to harvest late June to mid-July. The berries are small, round, and vary from green to red to purple in color.
Native to eastern North America, chokeberries are ready to pick from mid-August through to early September. Semisweet though rather sharp on the tongue, these berries are particularly high in vitamin K, a nutrient that supports bone health.
Mulberries are best harvested mid-June through to August, when this sweet and juicy fruit is at its ripest. The berries are found in subtropical regions throughout the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Always good eaten fresh, mulberries also make super yummy pie fillings. In addition, the berries are used in wines, cordials, and herbal infusions. They're packed with vitamin C, B vitamins, and antioxidants.
Salmonberries, native to North America, ripen in early August, when they are at their softest and sweetest. They can be eaten raw, but are fairly tasteless. Nevertheless, salmonberries are a great source of manganese.
Native to North America, saskatoons are usually ready to pick in July, when they're blue or dark purple and no longer hard—at which point they will be sweet, juicy, and tart.
A grapevine species native to the United States, the muscadine berry matures from early August through to September, when the fruit falls easily from the vine. The berries have a similar texture to plums with a wonderfully sweet yet musky taste.
The silver buffaloberry is the most common species of this North American fruit. They are at their best mid-September. They’re high in lycopene, an antioxidant linked with a reduced risk of heart disease, eye conditions, and certain cancers.
Found widespread throughout Europe, northwestern Africa, temperate western and central Asia, and North and South America, blackberries are at their best at the end of August through to September.
A popular fruit and a great source of dietary fiber, blackberries find use in desserts, jams, seedless jellies, and especially pies and crumbles. They're also used to produce candy and sometimes wine.
Found throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere, these berries are best picked from mid-September right through to early November, when they take on their distinctive deep red color.
Native across Europe, redcurrants can be picked in summer, between June and August. A rich source of vitamin C, the berries are known for their tart flavor.
Wild huckleberries grow in the northwestern United States and western Canada. The peak season for picking them occurs between mid-August to mid-September. They can be red, blue, or black in color.
Bilberries can be eaten fresh or made into jams (spread it over warm, fresh bread), juices, or pies. They are often used as flavoring for crêpes, and in Nordic countries bilberries are used as an ingredient in blåbärssoppa, a soup served hot or cold.
Occurring naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere (in Europe, they grow in the Nordic countries, Baltic states, and particularly in Poland), the yellow-to-orange fruit of the cloudberry plant are soft, juicy, and fairly sharp—a taste best described as a mix between raspberries and redcurrants.
Native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, blackcurrants tend to ripen in July, but will fruit into August as well. They are packed with vitamin C.
Blackcurrants find their way into cheesecakes, yogurt, ice-cream, sorbets, and a host of other tempting sweet dishes. The berries can also be used in savory cooking.
Blueberries are used in all sorts of foods, including jellies, jams, pies, and, famously, muffins. Blueberry wine is made from the flesh and skin of the berry.
Found across Europe, North America, and down in Mexico, raspberries are ready to pick starting in June in warmer climates, and in July and August in cooler zones.
Present in North America, Europe, and Asia, blueberries are typically ready for picking between June and August. The berries are full of fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6.
The berries are named as such because traditionally they were eaten with salmon. But they work best when combined with other ingredients and are processed into jam, candy, jelly, and alcoholic drinks.
Bilberries—which are primarily a Eurasian species of berry—are different from North American blueberries: they grown singly or in pairs rather than in clusters. You can pick them in July, August, and September.
Its sweet, nutty flavor makes the saskatoon berry a popular dessert choice, either as pie filling (with ice-cream, of course), or as a jam. The berries are often processed into wines, beer, and cider.
Wild, edible berries thrive in many different countries and climates. Sweet when ripe and very tasty, berries are also healthy, as they're packed full of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidant properties. But best of all, you can pick and eat berries on the go, or gather them up during or a walk or forage. Indeed, there are lots of different varieties you can take home and use in the kitchen, but never eat a wild berry you can't positively identify.
Click through the following gallery and take your pick from these beautiful berries.
Chokeberries can be eaten fresh, but they can also be made into jams, wines, spreads, juices, and ice-creams. And why not boost your antioxidant intake with a cup of chokeberry tea?
Raspberries are perfect for making smoothies and other vitamin and nutrient-rich juices. The berries go well in pies and jams.
Redcurrant jelly is an ideal accompaniment to lamb and venison. Redcurrants also find their way into pies, crumbles, some soups, and, of course, jams.
Cloudberries are ready for picking in July and August. Their floral sweetness means they are often made into jams, juices, tarts, and liqueurs. In Norway, they are regularly mixed with whipped cream and sugar to be served as a dessert called multekrem (cloudberry cream).
The buffaloberry is fairy bitter to the taste, but can be made into delicious jams and syrups. The berries also make an inspired soup base.
Fresh cranberries are hard, sour, and bitter—which is why about 95% of cranberries are processed and used to make cranberry juice and sauce. Incidentally, there are several alcoholic cocktails, including the Cosmopolitan, that include cranberry juice.
Elderberries have a tart, tangy taste and can be used for all sorts of tasty treats like crumbles, pies, jams, chutneys, and even wines and liqueurs. The berries are a great source of vitamins C and B6.
Wild berries you can pick and eat
When and where to find the best edible berries
FOOD Fruit
Wild, edible berries thrive in many different countries and climates. Sweet when ripe and very tasty, berries are also healthy, as they're packed full of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidant properties. But best of all, you can pick and eat berries on the go, or gather them up during or a walk or forage. Indeed, there are lots of different varieties you can take home and use in the kitchen, but never eat a wild berry you can't positively identify.
Click through the following gallery and take your pick from these beautiful berries.