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This small purple berry is more than just a seasonal delicacy.
If you’re not a Northwest native, your first awareness of huckleberries might be like mine. You stop at a roadside farmstand and decide to buy a container of the little round purple berries. “Twelve dollars,” the worker says, smiling. What?! That’s when you start to have an inkling of the specialness of these berries, which are delicate, hard to transport, and near impossible to farm.
Botanists define true huckleberries as having 10 large seeds and only being native to eastern North America. But there’s a lot of variety in these tiny berries. Big, flavorful, bright blue Cascade huckleberries are native to Oregon, California, Washington, and British Columbia. Mountain huckleberries, which grow in coniferous woods in the Northwest, can be red, blue, black, or purple. Coastal Indian tribes make waxy, sour, red huckleberries into jam, while florists prize the serrated leaves of the evergreen huckleberry for flower arrangements. They’re even Idaho’s state fruit.
In the west, our huckleberries are closely related to blueberries — both are of the Vaccinium genus. They grow at elevations between 2,000 and 11,000 feet, can take 15 years to reach maturity, and prefer clearcut or burned areas where they can get sunlight, making commercial growing impossible. Invasive species and more frequent wildfires threaten these delicate growing conditions, which may lead to smaller harvests. Wild-harvested, they have a more intense tart flavor, and don’t have the powdery white stuff on the outside that you sometimes find on blueberries. Huckleberry fans eagerly await their short season from August to early September.
More Than a Seasonal Delicacy
Huckleberries are a keystone species of the Pacific Northwest, meaning they hold the ecosystem together. Everybody eats them, from grizzly bears to turkeys to mice. Even Bigfoot is rumored to partake of the berries. Many animals find cover or nest under the shrubs. Deer, pikas, skunks, and opossums — to name just a few species — eat the twigs and foliage, too.
Huckleberries bloom earlier than many other plants. They are some of the only flowers available when bumblebee queens emerge from hibernation, leading to a symbiotic relationship. Without native bee pollination, there are no berries.
In a story told by Yakama Nation members, the Creator put part of his body in each animal and plant. As Virginia R. Beavert tells the story, when the Creator was almost done, he realized there were no berries on the mountain: “The only part of his body leftover was his eyes. He took his eyes and put them down on into the ground in the mountain. The veins in his eyes bled into the earth and became the roots. The roots became the plant, and then the berries sprouted and became the huckleberries.” Today, the berries are an important ceremonial food.
Berry Disputes
Native people have collected huckleberries, called wíwnu in the Yakama language, for millennia. Summertime huckleberry festivals serve as both social and spiritual occasions and continue to this day.
Disputes have long surrounded these little berries. In the 1855 treaty with the Yakama Nation, the U.S. government guaranteed the right for tribes to gather huckleberries and other traditional foods. Like so many promises, it wasn’t enforced. The Handshake Agreement of 1932 between Chief William Yallup of the Yakama and John R. Bruckart of the U.S. Forest Service tried again to remedy the situation in Washington State’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This forest is in the southwestern part of Washington and includes an important huckleberry-rich area called Indian Heaven Wilderness. The Yakama, Klickitat, Wishram, Skinpah, Kamiltpah, Wyam, and Cascades people all came here to gather berries.
If you hike in Indian Heaven Wilderness today, you might see signs designating areas for native pickers only, citing the Handshake Agreement. Washington state requires every huckleberry harvester to have a permit. You can get a free permit online if you’re picking less than one gallon of berries per day — up to three gallons per year — for personal consumption. More than that and you’ll need a commercial use permit. Some other national forests in Washington and Oregon also require permits, so check the forest service website of your destination before you go.
Enjoying Your Berries
People turn huckleberries into everything from jam to pies to saltwater taffy. Many Pacific Northwestern restaurants feature huckleberries on the menu. For something special, order the big huckleberry pancake at Javelina Indigenous Dining in Portland, and try some other traditional foods while you’re there. Ice cream maker Salt & Straw (read more) offers a seasonal flavor, huckleberry cornbread pudding, made from berries gathered in Priest Lake, Idaho. In Victor, Idaho, you can try the Emporium’s world-famous huckleberry milkshake, while in Wallace, Idaho, the Brooks Hotel serves a huckleberry pecan cinnamon roll. Wilsey Ranch in Marsing, Idaho, is renowned for its huckleberry cheesecake.
You can also attend one of the Northwest’s huckleberry festivals. Trout Creek, Montana, holds its annual festival on the second full weekend in August and includes old-timey activities like playing horseshoes and a pie-eating contest. Bingen, Washington’s huckleberry festival started in 1962, making it one of the longest-running celebrations in the Columbia River Gorge.
My favorite way to enjoy huckleberries is to pick a handful and eat them while hiking. If I want more than that, I’ll buy them. I’ve lived here long enough now to know that people charging twelve bucks for a container of huckleberries have earned it.
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Huckleberry Pancakes With Chocolate Chips and Toasted Pecans
- Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
Description
It’s hard to decide what to do with a summer morning in the Pacific Northwest. Blow up the paddleboard and head for a lake? Swim in a river or go for a hike? Or stay in and make pancakes with summer berries? If it’s huckleberry season, try these pancakes. None available? They’re also delicious with blueberries or raspberries.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plant-based milk
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vegan butter
- 1/2 cup raw, unsalted pecans
- 1 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsps granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsps avocado oil
- Pure maple syrup, to serve
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, and set aside.
- Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir frequently until the sugar melts and the nuts are coated and lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined. Stir the nuts, huckleberries, and chocolate chips into the batter until well combined.
- Drizzle the avocado oil over a large nonstick skillet or griddle. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake. When the top begins to bubble, flip the pancake. Cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve warm with syrup.
