A lot of people refer to them as wild pears. They don’t look like a pear. They are nowhere near the size of a pear. If you have ever eaten one, they can be rather sweet. In fact, some people call them sugar berries.
You likely are very familiar with them. The bushes grow to the size of a small tree, and in the spring they are usually covered with small white flowers. They are rather decorative. And they tend to produce a fair amount of fruit.
They also have a lot of names. Wild pear, sugar berry, serviceberry, shadberry, June berry and Saskatoon berry are just a few. They grow pretty much everywhere and there seems to be lots of them around this year. But does anyone use them for anything?
I think all the different names tend to throw people off. When I mention they are also Saskatoon berries, a few people I have talked to say they love things made with Saskatoon berries, but had no idea they are growing wild all over the province. They may have eaten Saskatoon berry pie, maybe some Saskatoon berry jam, or even had a glass or two of Saskatoon berry wine, but they had no idea they were surrounded by the things. It’s almost like they changed their name so they could live undisturbed in the berry protection program.
And they do seem to grow pretty much everywhere. Take a drive down any highway in the spring and you can see all the bushes with their white flowers lining the roads. They tend to stand out much less once the flowers drop, by at the moment, they seem covered with berries.
Many of us pick various berries from time to time. Even some of the wild berries are harvested, especially blueberries and cranberries. But I don’t know too many people who go out and pick serviceberries.
There’s lots of them around this year. Maybe I’ll have to give them a try.
