What is a Huckleberry?
Identification
Wild huckleberries look very similar to blueberries, and they are often indistinguishable to the untrained eye. To differentiate between the two, you can analyze a couple of different visual characteristics. The first of those is the size; they tend to be 5-10 mm in diameter, and for visual reference, they are about the size of a large blueberry. The second characteristic is the color. Blueberries are, to no one’s surprise, blue. The huckleberry however, presents different variations of blue and purple hues, often exhibiting both of these colors, depending on the specific variety and their maturity.
Taste
The huckleberry has a flavor that is similar to blueberries, yet what is different about them is their floral, intense sweet flavor and aroma. They also bear seeds within their core which give them a crunchy texture when perfectly ripe.
History and Traditional Uses
Huckleberries are known not only for their taste, but also for their marvelous health benefits! Traditional medical applications included treating pain, heart ailments and infections. Huckleberries were traditionally collected by Native American and First Nations people along the Pacific coast, interior British Columbia and Montana for use as food or traditional medicine. Today, huckleberries can be processed into a number different food products including juice, tea, soup, syrup, jam, pudding, candy, pie, muffins, pancakes and salad dressings.