BLUEBERRIES, native to North America, may be obtained fresh, frozen, or dried. There are three basic types of blueberries.High bush blueberries are the large, succulent type found in supermarkets from mid-May to September. Wonderful raw, they turn into a jam when cooked. Heavenly served with heavy cream or crème fraîche. Rabbit eyes are smaller than the high bush variety. Being more heat tolerant, they are also suitable for baking, but they have a short shelf life. Low bush (wild) blueberries are quite small, and have the best blueberry flavour, making them ideal for pie. Tough skinned, they are very heat tolerant. These berries have long been featured in aboriginal dishes. Low bush blueberries are best picked with a blueberry rake. They may be frozen, but don't rinse them, as this removes their waxy coating and destroys their quality. Blueberries have an affinity for cinnamon, ginger, pepper, mint, and maple syrup. SASKATOON BERRIES are native to the Western provinces, where 27 varieties grow along riverbanks and coulees. John Lake, founder of Saskatoon, was given some of these berries when he arrived with settlers in 1883, and he named the colony after the berries. The local Indians used the berries to make pemmican, but the white settlers preferred to make them into pies. Every Saskatoon cook has a favourite way to prepare this pie which is always offered to visitors from afar. Wild saskatoons must be simmered to soften the tough skin. Softer skinned domesticated berries don't require precooking. GOOSEBERRIES may be tart or slightly sweet. Their varied colours-celery green and glossy, rose-pink and alabaster like, purple-striped and opaque-reflect stages of ripeness. Ripe ones are tasty eaten out of hand; the sour green ones are usually cooked before eating. A favourite dessert is "Gooseberry Fool." The English fold one part stewed and cooked gooseberries into two parts custard, topping it all with whipped cream. North Americans usually dispense with the custard and simply combine gooseberries with whipped cream. WILD HIGH BUSH CRANBERRIES are harvested from late August until early September. Many people pick the berries when they are over-ripe. This is fine for "Wild High Bush Cranberry Ketchup," but it will produce an unpleasantly thick and syrupy "Wild High Bush Cranberry Jelly." If this happens to you, make a batch of raspberry jelly, incorporating the syrupy wild high bush cranberry jelly. To make a good jelly, pick the cranberries when they first turn red. Then place them in a pan of water, scooping off the ripe berries floating at the top. Leave the rest of the berries until they also float to the top. Birds ignore these very tart berries until after the first frost. One of the chemical constituents in the berries changes when frozen, improving the flavour. Cranberries are most easily dealt with in 10-cup lots. Wild rose petal and wild strawberry jelly This is a salute to Alberta's centennial. In Alberta, wild roses (the province's floral emblem) bloom while wild strawberries are ready to pick. Together, they make a delightful jelly. Begin by preparing the juices: Rose Petal Juice 4 cups wild rose petals           1 L 4 cups water           1 L Simmer the rose petals and water covered, for 15 minutes, then strain through a jelly bag: (This should make 1 quart /1 L rose petal juice.) Wild Strawberry Juice 3 cups wild strawberries           750 mL Crush berries, then place in a jelly bag and squeeze as much juice as possible from it. (This should make 1/2 cup / 125 mL wild strawberry juice.) To make the jelly: 1 quart wild rose petal juice           1 L 1/2 cup wild strawberry juice           125 mL 3 1/2 cups sugar           75 mL 1 package Certo liquid pectin Bring juices and sugar to boil. Add the Certo and boil vigourously for one minute (stirring continuously). Remove from heat, spoon off the foam, place in sterilized jars and cover with a layer of hot paraffin wax. Wild high bush cranberry ketchup and jelly To prepare juice and pulp, place the following in a large kettle: 10 cups freshly picked, just-ripe high bush cranberries           2.5 L 7 cups water           1.75 L Simmer the mixture until the fruit is just tender (10 to 15 minutes). Drain through a moistened jelly bag and save both the juice and the pulp. The pulp should be run through a food mill to remove the seeds. There should be 6 cups of juice (1.5 L) and 5 cups of pulp (1.25 L). Both the juice and the pulp must be frozen, in separate containers, for at least a week before you make the ketchup and the jelly. Freezing improves aroma and flavour of the finished products. The pulp is made into ketchup while the juice is made into jelly. To Make Cranberry Ketchup Combine in a large kettle: 1 cup white vinegar           250 mL 2 cups water           500 mL 1 spice bag containing: 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves           7 mL 1, 2-inch cinnamon stick           5 cm 1 teaspoon celery seeds           5 mL 1 dried hot red pepper 1 large piece of candied ginger Cover the kettle and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes. Strain and add the following: 5 cups (1.25 L) wild high bush cranberry pulp as prepared above and frozen for at least one week 2 cups brown sugar           500 mL 4 teaspoons pickling salt           20 mL 1/4 cup (60 mL) grated onion and the candied ginger piece (pureed in the food processor) Simmer this mixture, uncovered, until the desired consistency is obtained. Bottle, and allow the flavours to mingle for several weeks before using. Yields 7, 3/4-cup (175 mL) bottles. To Make Cranberry Jelly Thaw the 6 cups of frozen wild high bush cranberry juice, as prepared above. Add enough water to bring the volume up to 10 cups (2.5 L). Then divide this into two, 5-cup (1.25 L) portions. Place the following in a kettle and bring to the boil: 5 cup portion of cranberry juice, as prepared above           1.25 L 1/2 teaspoon butter (to stop frothing)           2 mL Add the following, bring to the boil and continue boiling 3 minutes: 7 cups granulated sugar           1.75 L Remove from heat, add the following and stir one minute: 2 packages Certo liquid pectin. Pour the jelly into sterilized jars, cover with melted paraffin wax and lids. Each 5-cup (1.25 L) portion of juice yields 10 jars of cranberry jelly, each being 2 cups (250 mL). Saskatoon berry pie This recipe, in honour of Saskatchewan's centennial, can be made from fresh or frozen berries. George Peterson was one of Saskatoon's first physicians. His wife is remembered for adding rhubarb to her saskatoon pies. For a sensational presentation, double the volume of the filling in this recipe. Don't count on leftovers! 1. Combine the following in a saucepan and simmer for 4 minutes: 4 cups (wild) saskatoons           1 L 2 tablespoons lemon juice           30 mL 2 tablespoons water           30 mL 4 teaspoons red currant jelly           20 mL 2. Remove from the heat and stir in: 1 cup white sugar           250 mL 3. Pour some of the saskatoon juice prepared above into another saucepan, add the following, and simmer five minutes: 1/2 to 1 cup chopped rhubarb           125 to 250 mL 4. Add the rhubarb mixture to the saskatoon mixture, then stir in: 4 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca           60 mL 5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 C). Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then place in a pastry-lined pie plate. Cover with a pastry top. With a pastry brush, coat the top of the pie with cream, and sprinkle generously with white sugar. 6. Place the pie in the middle of the preheated oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F (180 C), and bake for 45 minutes. If the edges brown too quickly, cover them with pieces of foil, or invert the rim of a French tart shell over the edge of the pie. 7. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream. Fresh blueberry pie If you bake blueberries in a fruit pie, they will burst and the filling will have a jam-like quality. The following recipe avoids this problem. 1. Bake a 9-inch pastry shell and let it cool on a rack. 2. Combine the following in a saucepan: 3 tablespoons cornstarch           45 mL 1 cup water           250 mL 1 cup granulated sugar           250 mL 1 cup fresh blueberries           250 mL grated zest plus juice of one lemon pinch of salt 3. Bring this mixture to a boil and then simmer (stirring constantly) for 5 to 10 minutes, until a thick, glossy sauce is formed. 4. Let the sauce cool to lukewarm. Don't let it cool completely or it will solidify. 5. Spread 4 cups (1 L) of fresh, dry blueberries into the pie shell, and pour the warm sauce over them. Just before serving, top with 1 pint (500 mL) heavy cream, whipped and sweetened. Optional: Mix together 4 oz. room-temperature cream cheese (125 g) and grated rind and juice of 1 lemon. Spread the mixture over the bottom of the baked shell before adding the fresh blueberries. Gooseberry fool Remove the "tops" and "tails" from each gooseberry. This dish combines pureed fruit with custard, both of which should be the same consistency, or the elements will separate. There are two ways to accomplish this: 1. Stew the trimmed berries in a heavy saucepan over low heat, using just the moisture clinging to the drained berries, with no added liquid. 2. Place the drained berries in a covered casserole dish and place in a 325 degree F (160 C) oven until the berries have softened. Whichever method is used, the berries are then pureed in a food processor and rubbed through a sieve. Cool the mixture. Fold the pureed gooseberries into twice the volume of custard or whipped cream. Spoon the "fool" into stemmed glasses, cover, and refrigerate for at least two hours. Before serving, pipe a little whipped cream on the top and garnish with a raw gooseberry. Blueberry pancakes Make a homemade dry pancake mixture by combining the following: 6 cups all-purpose flour           1.5 L 3/4 cup granulated sugar           60 mL 3 tablespoons baking powder           45 mL 2 teaspoons salt           10 mL To make 4 (1/3 cup or 75 mL) pancakes, combine the following in a small mixing bowl: 1 cup dry pancake mixture           250 mL 2 tablespoons melted butter           30 mL 1 large egg, beaten Make pancakes in the usual manner, sprinkling the top of the pancake with blueberries just before flipping the pancake to cook the other side. Chokecherry Jelly Chokecherries grow along the banks of the North and South Saskatchewan rivers, amongst the forest of the northern Prairies, and in northern Ontario. Since the days of the settlers, jelly made from these astringent berries has been served with roast turkey, game, and as a coating for sausages. Chokecherries are ready for picking in August. A gallon pail (4.5 L) of these berries will make six jelly jars, 3/4 cup or 175 mL each. 1. In a large kettle, simmer the following for about 15 minutes: 1 gallon picked over chokecherries           4.5 L 2 1/2 cups water           625 mL 2. Place the hot mixture in a jelly bag, and "hang" over a bowl. This should produce 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) juice. You may have to add up to 1/2 cup (125 mL) water to come up to the right volume. 3. Now make the jelly. In a jelly pot (preferably brass) combine the following: 2 1/2 cups of the prepared chokecherry juice           625 mL 1 small box Certo Fruit Pectin Crystals 1/2 teaspoon butter           2 mL 4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring constantly, for one minute. Then add the following: 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar           875 mL 5. Bring to a rolling boil again, and boil hard for one minute. 6. Remove from the heat. Skim off any foam, and stir with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Fill six sterilized 3/4-cup (175 mL) jelly jars to within 1/2 inch (1 centimetre) of the tops. Pour melted paraffin wax on top, and place lids on the jars.