Some like 'em Sweet, Some like 'em Sour!
Honeyberry, haskap, edible blue honeysuckle - whatever name it goes by, this fascinating fruit varies in taste from variety to variety, and even the same plant will vary from year to year depending upon moisture, sunlight, and soil conditions.
As people also have individual taste preferences, some will like the tarter jam, while others will prefer the sweeter jelly. A Japanese company selected the University of Saskatchewan Borealis berry as the best tasting of 43 samples (www.fruit.usask.ca/haskap.html) but the mixture of Russian berries used in the honeyberry recipes shown below produced quite delicious results as well.
Thanks to Bernis
for her recipes below that can also be found here: http://www.honeyberryusa.com |
Ice Cream6 large egg yolks, slightly beaten1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups 2% milk 2 cups heavy whipping cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 c honeyberries In a heavy saucepan, combine the first four ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, just until it is about to boil. Remove from heat; add cream, vanilla and honeyberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Follow instructions that come with your ice cream maker. Serve and top with berries. Notes * Frozen berries may be used, but the berries themselves have an intense flavor, so you may want to chop them into small pieces. For stronger flavor and color throughout ice cream, thaw and blend berries in blender first, leaving "chunks" of berries as desired. * This recipe even worked without a ice-cream maker, by setting the covered container (with refrigerator-cooled mixture) outside at 0 F (-18 C) for three hours and stirring only once! |
Jam & JellyHoneyberry jam has a very distinctive, rich flavor. The skin of the berries contributes tartness and dark purple-blue color to the healthy spread. 3/4 cup sugar per cup of berries was used in this sample and no additional pectin was needed for the jam.Honeyberry jelly is sweeter than the jam and has a lighter purple color. Additional pectin may be needed. The jelly has a tang to it similar to raspberry jelly. Many thanks to Clayton and Marg Wiebe of Blue Honeysuckle blog for allowing me to purchase jam, jelly and frozen berries from them. And for a great detailed description of how to make Honeyberry (Haskap) Jam, check out All Our Fingers in the Pie! |
PancakesHow can something so healthy taste so good? Berries in the batter and baked berries on top of this whole wheat pancake started my morning off with a gourmet flair. Only thing missing was a dab of whipped cream to top it off! As berry juice tinted the batter I thought "Wouldn't kids have fun making Purple Pancakes?!" |
Pancakes PlusCrave some extra protein with your pancake? Try a portion of cottage cheese under a dallop of honeyberry preserves! And I'll let you in on a secret - I didn't oil my dehydrating trays and one tray was impossible to pry off, so I just added water, let it sit overnight, and a yummy topping was ready for my pancakes the next morning! |
WafflesThis sauce tastes superb over whole grain waffles:2/3 cup sugar 2 Tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup water 1 cup honeyberries 1 Tablespoon butter cream cheese, softened In saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in berries; reduce heat. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in butter until melted. Spread waffle with cream cheese and broil until warm. Serve sauce over cream cheese and waffles. Note: I did not mix any berries into the batter as berries tend to burn in my waffle maker. |
BakedHoneyberries have such a rich flavor that "toning them down" with a half and half mixture of blueberries is a delicious option. The zest of the honeyberries livens up the bland blueberries, and the blueberries tone down the rich tartness of the honeyberry. For each cup of berries, add 1/4 cup of sugar or to taste. Evaporated cane sugar was used in this sample.Honeyberries tend to cook down with more liquid than blueberries so additional thickening or cooking may be desired. |
Fruit Jerky / Fruit LeatherI experimented with:* Honeyberry & blueberry (2/3 c sugar to 1 c berries). * Honeyberry & strawberry (unsweetened - tart like rhubarb). * Blueberry (sweetened). * Honeyberry & honey (1/4 c honey to 1 c berries). Personal favorites: Sweetened honeyberry & blueberry - this combination maintained a hint of blueberry but with a lively tang to it. The honeyberry and honey was delicious as well. Pictured are two fruit roll-ups, one with cream cheese and the other plain. I prefer the plain but I can see how there is room for creativity such as with the cream cheese. Instructions: 7 hours at 130F. Lightly coat trays with coconut oil to prevent sticking. |
Dehydrated HoneyberriesDried honeyberries have a lovely chewy texture that reminds me of soft raisins but their thin skin maintains that "melt in the mouth" feature. Dr. Bob Bors from the University of Saskatchewan found some naturally dried berries still attached to their plants in October, and they maintained their beautiful blue color! When the berries are heated they turn a darker color. Read more about Dr. Bob's dehydrated haskap (honeyberries) here. Note: I tried dehydrating a mixture of berries at home and think I need some tips - they tasted good, but did not maintain as much body as shown in this pic and took twice as long to dry as the fruit jerky (leather). |
Cheesecake
 |
The berries that I dehydrated were still on the moist side so I stuck them in the fridge and a month later worked great as a topping for cheesecake. This particular recipe uses yogurt instead of sour cream, so combined with the berries is a pretty healthy as well as extremely tasty dessert, or breakfast, or snack (you get the idea!) See bakingbites.com/2009/04/vanilla-yogurt-cheesecake for details - but note that you don't even need Greek style yogurt - any plain yogurt works fine for me! |
The Dairy ConnectionDairy products complement honeyberries very nicely. Whether it is jam and cheese on bread, or an ice cream smoothie, the dairy-honeyberry connection is a good match.When the juice is mixed with with other ingredients, a brilliant reddish pink color is produced, possibly contributing to a subliminal impression that one is eating a mixture of raspberries and cherries! The thin skin of the honeyberry seem to melt in one's mouth, and is also easily broken down upon blending. For chunks of more intense flavor, leave some pieces of berries intact. For a more subtle flavor, blend berries completely. |
Haskap Liqueur
In a glass jar place fruit and vodka (or gin) and sugar. Every day flip the jar back and forth to mix the sugar into the solution. Strain and use after 3 months. Gin will give kind of a lemony taste so I prefer to use vodka.
More Haskap cocktail ideas here
| |||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
Home l Haskap l Nutritional Info l Growing l Products l Recipes l Farm Open Day l Contact us l 2013 Haskap Price List l Membership l Links Haskap Growers Association of Nova Scotia., PO Box 548, Chester, Nova Scotia, B0J 1J0 © Haskap Growers Association of Nova Scotia. All rights reserved 2011 - 2013.
|
|
||||||||||||||||
