Wild About Huckleberries

Quintessential Northwest summer comes in no more perfect package — and certainly no smaller one — than the native huckleberry.

Most people probably associate the berries more with Mark Twain's character Huckleberry Finn than they do with fine food, but people who know about huckleberries tend to be passionate about them, and they generally have a story to tell.

My story is about growing up in Oregon, where I had the good fortune to spend summers at a rustic cabin nestled against Huckleberry Mountain on Mount Hood. My sister and I frolicked in the damp and mysterious woods as our father tried to catch an ever-elusive steelhead in the Salmon River. We sampled the native berries along the way — namely, salmonberries and huckleberries. The huckleberry bushes' dainty oval leaves gave way to dark berries, perfectly round, each bursting with intense blueberry flavor and a unique tartness and crunch.

The uncultivated cousin of the blueberry, the huckleberry grows only in the wild, preferring elevations of 4,000 to 6,000 feet. Twelve species of huckleberries, whether blue or red, individual or clustered, call Washington and Oregon home. However varied the berry, the season is short: late July through mid-September. Because they are hard to find, they tend to be expensive ($4 to $5 a pint). But huckleberry lovers swoon over the thick skin and wild flavor that no other berry captures as well.

For Scott Staples, chef at Restaurant Zoë in Seattle's Belltown, his story is discovering huckleberries on his honeymoon in 1987. The self-proclaimed "little snob from Colorado" married a woman from Vancouver, B.C., who introduced him to hiking and camping in the Northwest and, consequently, to huckleberries.

"Here I was being exposed to the coast, the Cascades, massive trees and tide pools for the first time," Staples recalls. "It was over the top. I'd never had huckleberries before. We were camping for a week and we picked them wild." Today, Staples loves cooking with huckleberries because they combine tart acidity and sweet ripeness and are earthier than blueberries.

What's the best dish for the wild blue berry? None other than another Northwest icon: salmon. "Salmon and huckleberries were made for each other," Staples says. He suggests grilled salmon with huckleberry freezer jam and crème fraîche along with grilled polenta and mixed greens with huckleberry vinaigrette.

Staples also recommends showcasing huckleberries in desserts and with cheeses. When he was chef at the Third Floor Fish Café in Kirkland, he served a creative cheese course with Taleggio, fresh huckleberries and a cabernet reduction. This summer at Zoë he plans to offer a Taleggio cheesecake with huckleberry compote, pairing sweet berries with the rich Italian cheese. "I love opposites," he says, "and this dessert is perfect."

Huckleberries may be substituted for blueberries in almost any recipe. Don't stop with food, though. Try throwing some berries in a martini for a unique Northwest cocktail. Last summer Cascadia Restaurant sported such a signature drink on its bar list.

Kerry Sear, Cascadia chef/owner, likes using huckleberries in his restaurant, where the focus is on wild and organic ingredients. He says the berries hold up well in preserving and drying, which can extend their short season.

To enjoy huckleberries yourself this summer, grab your hiking boots and head outdoors. Your best bet is to find them in the mountains. You may need a picking permit in certain areas, so check with the ranger station first. Keep in mind that bears rely on huckleberries as a carbohydrate-loaded staple in their diet, so please give them the right of way. They were there first. (And they're dangerous!)

To harvest efficiently, spread a clean cloth on the ground and shake the plant; ripe berries will drop onto the cloth. Some devoted "huckleberry hunters" swear that the best berries in the state are in the Mount Adams Wilderness. Closer to Seattle, plenty of trails along Interstate 90 have huckleberry patches.

If the mere thought of foraging in the woods makes you break out like you had a bad case of poison oak, don't fret. It is possible, for a few weeks each summer, to find huckleberries in urban areas. Shoreline Central Market and Larry's Market and Thriftway on Queen Anne say they will carry the fresh berries this month. Also check with specialty stores, vendors at Pike Place Market and local community-supported agriculture farms.

Once you get them home, store the berries in the refrigerator without rinsing and use them within a few days. Staples from Restaurant Zoë recommends spreading berries in a single layer on paper towels on a baking sheet to best preserve them. Freezing them is easy: Either throw them in a plastic Ziploc bag, or lightly sauté the berries in butter and purée into a sauce before freezing.

Once you discover huckleberries, it's easy to become obsessed. Dan Nelson of the Washington Trails Association calls himself a "freakishly devoted huckleberry enthusiast" and won't divulge his favorite berry-picking spots. Others post desperate messages on Internet discussion boards in hopes of locating the precious blue gems.

But no matter how you get or use them, these berries are likely to leave you with great memories, too.

Huckleberry Compote

Recipe from Scott Staples, chef/owner at Restaurant Zoë

-- 1 cup port wine
-- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
-- 1/2 cup sugar
-- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
-- 1 teaspoon orange zest
-- 1 pound huckleberries, rinsed and stemmed
-- 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the port, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and maintain a high simmer until the mixture has the consistency of syrup.

2. Add the zests, berries and pepper to the saucepan and gently stir to mix well. Remove from heat and let cool. Serve over cheesecake, pound cake or ice cream.

Huckleberry picking at your fingertips

Check with ranger stations about whether picking permits are needed.

Mount Baker Ranger District
360-856-5700
• Heather Meadows
• Anderson/Watson at Baker Lake
•Schrieber's Meadow at Baker Lake

Darrington Ranger District
360-436-1155
• Boardman Lake

Skykomish Ranger District
360-677-2414
• Tonga Ridge

North Bend Ranger District
425-888-1421
• Snow Lake Trail
• Granite Mountain

White River Ranger District
360-825-6585
• Huckleberry Creek

Catherine M. Allchin is a Seattle writer.