Serviceberry

Name: Serviceberry (genus Amelanchier), also called juneberry, shadbush, shadblow, sarvisberry or, in western Canada, saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia). The same fruit is also described, from the pome-fruit side of the family, on its page under Apples and Pears.

Description

Serviceberries are native to North America, where numerous species grow as large shrubs or small trees in woods, prairies and along streams. The names tell the story: “juneberry” for the month the fruit ripens across much of the continent, “shadbush” for the time the shad fish run upstream in spring, and “saskatoon,” the origin of the Canadian city's name, from the Cree word for the berry.

Indigenous peoples and early settlers relied on serviceberries as a staple fruit, eating them fresh, drying them, and mixing them into pemmican, a high-energy mixture of dried meat, fat and berries. The explorers Lewis and Clark are said to have relied on them when other food was scarce. The ripe fruit tastes sweet, with a hint of almond from the small, soft seeds.

Main nutrition value

Serviceberries provide dietary fibre, vitamin C and dark anthocyanin pigments, with a sweetness similar to a mild blueberry.

How best to be consumed

Serviceberries are best eaten fresh when fully ripe and dark purple, or cooked as they would use blueberries.

1. Eat fresh by the handful when fully ripe, with a gentle rinse first.
2. Bake into pies, muffins and crumbles, using them in place of blueberries.
3. Cook into jam, jelly, syrup or fruit leather, as in the Canadian saskatoon tradition.
4. Dry them like raisins for trail mix and baking.
5. Freeze whole to keep a short-season harvest.

Overconsumption could cause…

Serviceberries are safe in ordinary amounts, with the usual considerations for a foraged berry.

1. Digestive discomfort from a large amount of fruit and fibre at once.
2. Mistaken identification when foraging wild fruit — confirm the plant before eating.
3. Extra sugar when eaten mostly as jam, pie filling or sweet wine.
4. Little risk from the small seeds in normal amounts, though they are best not crushed in large quantity.

GroupsApples and PearsBerriesRose family (Rosaceae)Fresh

Related foodsAppleAsian Pear / Nashi PearBlackberryBoysenberryChinese PearCrab Apple

Wikipedia — Amelanchier, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier