Berries

When we first moved to Pennsylvania, my mother discovered in the spring the fields were alive with wild strawberries. These strawberries were small but packed with flavor. Although it was time consuming, my mother would go out with a bucket and pick these berries. Sometimes by brother and I would help, but more luscious strawberries would go into our mouths than in our buckets.

Once the berries were picked and washed, they needed to be hulled. My mother had a utensil for this job. It was metal, folded in half, and worked like tweezers. It was wider than your thumb and your thumb fit into an impression at the end. This tool was not needed for “store bought” strawberries because these berries were so large you could hull them with your fingers. For the wild strawberries it was indispensable.

After hulling, the fruit was sprinkled with a little sugar and chilled in the refrigerator. We would eat the chilled delicacy in a bowl with cream or whipped cream. Often my mother would bake “shortcake” and we would have strawberry shortcake. Over ice cream or on cereal, the fruit was gone in less time than it took to pick it.

Besides the strawberries, we also had wild blackberry bushes. If you are unfamiliar with blackberries, they are like raspberries. The wild berries are smaller than the commercial varieties but much larger than the wild strawberries. I found you could use five or six on a pancake and their flavor was strong enough to be the perfect amount. I would pour batter on the griddle for a pancake and top it with a few blackberries. If I mixed them directly into the batter their flavor was overpowering.

Here in Nebraska, I have found neither wild strawberries nor blackberries. I have, however, found mulberries. These berries work like blackberries on pancakes or can be eaten by the handful just as they are. This is, of course, if they escape being eaten as soon as they are picked.

There are other berries I would like to find. Some wild blueberries or huckleberries would be nice. We had both in Pennsylvania. Right now, I am waiting in anticipation for mulberries to be ripe.