#170: Salmonberries and Four Ways to Use Them

A summertime treat and four ways to use them; breakfast berries, jelly, a shrub, and a pie.

Salmonberries come in high summer. These colorful berries, also known as thimbleberries, Rubus spectabilis are part of the rose family.¹ They grow in the Pacific Northwest and up into Alaska. The flower is a lovely deep fushia. I may find them on a hike near water or at the farmers market. If you are lucky enough to know a forager, ask them if they might pick you enough to make jelly, a shrub, or a pie. Be sure to share it with them, too.

A beautiful salmonberry flower (photo from an anonymous friend)

The flavor of salmonberries range from tart to not too sweet. They can be picked and eaten fresh. They do have a lot of seeds.

Just picked salmonberries (photo from an anonymous friend)

4 Ways to Use Salmonberries

• Breakfast Berries

• Salmonberry Jelly

• Salmon-Raspberry Shrub

• Salmon-Rasp-Berry Pie