A Suislaw NF bonus – Berries!
A bonus to camping in a Suislaw NF’s coastal campgrounds in the Fall was the bounty of berries we found there. The blackberries were fat and juicy. The Evergreen huckleberries were small, bordering on tiny, and plentiful. It took a lot of these little purple gems to carry the flavor through pancake. Remember to toss the huckleberries in a little dry pancake mix before adding to the wet batter. This will keep these gems from settling on the bottom of the pancake and burning.
We discovered a berry new to us, Salal. The most difficult to harvest but so good! We were told the berries of Salal were used to make a jam by the area’s pioneers. Those berries are sweet, almost honey sweet, such be firm and plump. If soft and wrinkled don’t bother with it. Salal berries are honey sweet so they are perfect straight from the bush or you could toss some in a small pan with a splash of water and cook them down into a luscious sauce over Camper’s Pudding (make favorite instant pudding according to package directions in a clean plastic mayo jar but shake, don’t stir, it).
A tip to picking – blackberries and huckleberries should release their grip will gentle pressure. Salal berries requires a twist along with a gentle pull. Note, Salal berries have a sticky feel so you might want to bring some handiwipes to use when done picking.
