We had our first harvest of the year this weekend. What beautiful weather for picking fruit! Volunteers and people who passed by learned about service berries, that they are an indigenous plant called saskatoon berry. The City of Barrie plants them as ornamental plants and they can become a nuisance for business owners when they fall onto the sidewalk. Service berries are deliciously sweet and juicy! They can be eaten raw or made into jam. The volunteers are going to make jam and donate it to the women’s shelter and Barrie Native Friendship Centre.
Here is a recipe for jam from Eat locally. Blog globally
Serviceberry Jam
Makes about 2.5 cups
- 1.5 pounds serviceberries (which are the same as Saskatoonberries)
- 1.5 pounds sugar
- One-quarter cup of lemon juice
Combine all the ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to help the steam escape quickly.
When it reaches the setting point, you can seal and process in jars or just refrigerate.
This makes quite a sweet jam, and there will be those who don’t like the seeds. However, if you let it stay on the stove long enough to be really sure, the set’s fantastic. If you like a tarter jam, reduce the sugar to one pound and perhaps add an extra couple of tablespoons of lemon juice. If you really hate the seeds, go with David’s more rigorous method. Either way, enjoy!