Wild Cranberries From Cordova, Alaska!
While visiting Cordova, Alaska this week, I had the rare opportunity to forage for wild cranberries.
Beth Poole, the Executive Director of the Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association, invited a group of writers up to Cordova in order to see the Copper River coho run. Thanks to Beth's high energy level, Amy, Shauna, Danny, Joelen and I covered a lot of ground during our stay.
Just before we headed to the airport, Beth took us on a little cranberry hunt. It was great fun, and we were all shocked at how different the little wild cranberries are from their cultivated counterpart. The wild berries grow very close to the ground and are very very small. The sun was shining while we picked, so the berries looked particularly beautiful sitting there waiting to be plucked.
The task can be time consuming because the berries are soooo small, but Beth had a wonderful handheld picking device that worked great and speeded up the process considerably. It took me some time to fill my little bag only halfway. Hence, I marveled at the resourceful residents who manage to gather seven or eight gallons during the fall season!
The wild cranberries seem sweeter, juicier, and even more aromatic to me. While in Cordova, we enjoyed numerous homemade cranberry dishes. And, thanks to our little foraging expedition, I now have some to use in my home kitchen. (They traveled home on the Alaska Airlines "Salmon-Thirty-Salmon" plane just fine!) The bag is sitting in my fridge, so I'm feeling pressed to use my perishable souvenirs. Of course, I could freeze them, but I am thinking that I should make a buttery cake or some cookies with them. On the other hand, I have some nice Copper River coho that I purchased from Prime Select Seafoods and carted home, so maybe I should combine the coho and the cranberries...
Do you forage for wild foods? Have you ever foraged in Alaska? If so, do tell! And, stay tuned for more details on our fabulous fall tour of Cordova...
Photo by Melissa A. Trainer
--Melissa A. Trainer
S.Lynn on September 10, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Hubby and I pick wild blackberries at the local river every year. He makes the best blackberry pie and I use the rest for blackberry ice cream. They go great together and we have such fun being out with nature for the day. The one caveat is that poison oak (or ivy-I get them mixed up) looks very similar to blackberry vines and they grow in the same area. Gloves are a necessity.
Melissa Trainer on September 11, 2011 at 06:58 AM
I love picking wild blackberries too...I haven't done so this year, but I have been checking the wild blackberry patches and it seems to be an "off year." Blackberry jam and wild blackberry cobbler are favorites around my house!
Missy Trainer
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