HUCKLEBERRIES NOT WELL KNOWN HERE

Press, Volume C, Issue 29505, 5 May 1961, Page 2

HUCKLEBERRIES NOT WELL KNOWN HERE

Huckleberries—a little known fruit in Canterbury—are now on sale for the first year in Christchurch. The taste of huckleberry jam resembles black currant jam. Supplies are limited at present in Christchurch because as yet they are not being grown commercially here, but in small lots by home gardeners. They are no novelty in the North Island, however, as they have been on sale for the last two seasons. and are now grown commercially there. “Housewives in Christchurch do not seem to know what huckleberries are yet.” said a fruiterer, Mr G. Thomas, yesterday. “They also seem to be frightened because they look like the berries of deadly nightshade." he said. The berries are not the only part of the plant that resembles deadly nightshade. The bush on which they grow is very similar. No special care is needed to grow them and they thrive in the open. The seed was imported from the United States by a seed company. Uses They must be ripe before

cooking and so all fruit is kept for 10 to 14 days after picking to ensure that they are ripe. The fruit can be used in a variety of ways including huckleberry pie. They are equally suitable for jams, jellies or stewing. Cooking must be continued until the berries are squashy and the skins have burst. To stew them, lib of berries should be boiled with half a cup of water until they are soft, and then 6oz of sugar and the juice of a lemon added. Cooking time should be about a quarter of an hour. They should be served hot with cream or ice cream. A huckleberry pie is made in the same Way, as a plum pie. The uncooked fruit is placed in a pie dish lined with pastry, covered with a I'ttle sugar and lemon juice, then topped with pastry and baked. The recipe to make jam is similar to that for black currant jam— except that the lemon juice must not be forgotten. If jelly is wanted, merely add 2lb of apples to every 31b of berries. At least one fruiterer provides the basic stewing recioe with each purchase of huckleberries, and a nurseryman’s shop selling seeds also provides recipes. The price of a punnet containing a Jib is about 2s.