Ok so once in a while we like to steer off of politics, crime, homelessness, and articles concentrating on how Montana is losing its freedoms faster than you can say “Jack Sprat” and just do a good old-fashioned fun and useful homespun informative narrative.
And what is more useful than an article on huckleberries? And yes it’s a very good year in Northwest Mt so get out there and pick!
Here is a very useful and helpful tip. IF you pick ‘hucks’ and if you just don’t get the amount you want never fear. There is a great way to “stretch your hucks” and save a buck (or several) and that is by adding blueberries to the mix.
Now mind you I’ve done this in the past. However what I never seemed to have just quite right was the ratio.
Back when I was really trying to conserve my “hucks” I’d do a one to one ratio of huckleberries to blueberries. So a pie would consist of 3 cups to 3 cups or 2 to 2 depending on the size of your baking pan.
Now I know better. The one-to-one recipe just had no zing or zip because let’s face it blueberries are very bland compared to the much sought-after huck.
Recently I made a big cobbler for the ‘fam’ (and to be honest it needed more berries) but the flavor was SPECTACULAR (I’m not gonna lie) and tasted so much like my Oregon childhood favorite meaning almost exactly like Boysenberries to me.
I was elated to say the least. Huckleberries can be so tangy and tart that they usually need a hefty among of sugar or sweet ice cream to cut the “bite” (and especially if you’re picking them a bit early in the year and a wee bit reddish.
So here is what I did.
I mixed 5 cups of huckleberries to 1.5 cups of blueberries and for a big cobbler pan I Would probably do 6 cups of huckleberries to 2 cups of blueberries but the result is so similar to the flavor of Boysenberry it will blow your mind and your taste buds away! Make sure not to add more than a cup of sugar or 1.25 cups for the bigger recipe and here’s a secret (use Costco organic sugar because it’s about half as sweet as regular gross, sweet, nasty bleached white sugar).
Let’s face it friends, huckleberries are about the price of gold these days and about as hard to get. So why not stretch the treasure?
I assure you it’s fabulous. And be sure to check back with Montana 1st News because next time as I will reveal my delectable crust recipe for that’s where the magic really begins!
