Service Berries...

Sorry, I have been out of service for a bit.  Had to make a quick trip to Minnesota for a family reunion and my brother's birthday.  A good time was had by all.  I will talk about all of that later, I promised berries for the next post, so berries it is. 

Have you ever hear of service berries?  I call them South Dakota's version of the blueberry.  They are edible and are very similar to a blueberry, except maybe with a nutty after taste.  Here is the official definition from www.pickyourown.org/unusualfruits.htm

Saskatoons - It is also called the Western or Pacific Serviceberry, Saskatoon Berry and Alder Leaved Serviceberry. They are very similar to blueberries. It is a Deciduous shrub/tree, to 40 ft (12 m), spreading to erect. They like well-drained moist soils. They are cold and drought tolerant. Flowers small, white, fragrant appear in early to late May or early June, and the purple fruit ripens in early to late July.    Fruit is 1-1.5 cm, rounded, purple-black, edible, sweet. Hardy to USDA Zone 4. Native range from southern Alaska to California, east to the Dakotas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Arizona, mostly along river banks and moist thickets and forests.  Apparently, the fruit tastes a bit like a blueberry. The berries have a pleasing and unique flavor, and are also high in iron and copper. They are good eaten fresh or in desserts. Native peoples used them in soups, stews and pemmican. They were also used in medicines for stomach and liver problems, and the juice was used as a dye. They can be propagated from seed, cutting, or suckers. 

If you haven't guessed by now I am lucky enough to have a passel of these plants on our property (say that 3 times fast:).  I went berry picking before we left and I think I have about 20 cups worth of service berries.  I poured them into cake pans and froze them.  Then I used the food saver my Mom got me for Christmas (thanks Mom) and froze them in 3 or 4 cup packages.

Of course, before I went to all of this work I figured I'd make a pie to see if they taste good.  They do.  Both my husband and father-in-law were suspect of my berry identification skills and did their own research on service berries prior to partaking in pie eating (am I on a tongue twister roll or what?).  Once the pie was deemed edible we agreed that service berries taste similar to blueberries.  I'm happy about that since blueberry pie filling is $5 or more per can.

This recipe was taken from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.  The cookbook was new in 1951, but a good recipe never goes out of style.

Blueberry (Service Berry) Pie

2 1/2 c. fresh berries

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. flour

dash of salt

1 T. lemon juice

2 T. butter

Combine berries, sugar, flour, salt, and lemon juice.  Fill pastry-lined pie pan.  Dot with butter and adjust top crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.  You can add a dash of cinnamon for additional flavor.