The Saskatoon berry is very similar to the blueberry, but smaller in size. It grows on small shrubs that rarely reach more than 8 m in height. The berries ripen in early summer and usually appear in clumps of between 3 and 20 berries. The scientific name for this berry is the Amelanchier alnifolia. It is native to North America and can be found in most parts of Canada and western and north central US. There are three main varieties of the Saskatoon berry depending on the area in which they grow:
* Alnifolia - northeastern regions
* Pumila - Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada
* Semiintergnifolia - Pacific coastal regions from Alaska to northwestern California

Saskatoon berries are also known by other names, such as simple Saskatoons, Prairie berreies or the Juneberry. The berries are edible and were long used by the native peoples in combination with pemmican and other dried meats. Today, they are widely used in jams for pies and tarts and as whole berries in muffins and cookies. When dried, they are similar to dried cranberries and are often used in trail mix and cereal.

Saskatoon berries are grown commercially and distributed all across North America for sale in supermarkets. On the commercial farms, picking the berries begins in early July and only the ripe berries are picked. A mechanical grader then grades the berries to remove the smallest ones and discard them. The berries must be kept cool and so are kept at a temperature of 5C throughout all the rest of the handling processes. Once they come through the mechanical grader, they are then sorted by hand to remove any damaged berries or bits of leaves that may still remain. The berries are packaged in 30-pound boxes and blast frozen.

The Saskatoon berry has many medicinal purposes. It does have antioxidant properties like that of the blueberry, but has significantly higher amounts of protein and other essential elements such as:
* Calcium
* Magnesium
* Manganese, and
* Barium.
In addition, these berries are low in phosphorous and sulphur and are excellent sources of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

When you are cooking or baking with these berries, almond extract really helps to bring out their flavor. When you buy the berries frozen, do not thaw them before using them, but rather use the frozen berries. If you want to make jam from the berries, do not boil them with sugar because this will cause them to harden instead of becoming soft.

Learn more about this author, Frances Stanford.
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