Prairie Berry Kombucha

We live on a small acreage, which affords us a very large and productive garden that at this time of the year I am beginning to itch to get into.

Calgary has a challenging growing season so I tend to grow the basics as far as vegetables go and I stick to native plants as much as possible – because basically I’m a lazy gardener. It is grow or go in my garden!

Many years ago we planted a number of berry bushes on the property, both raspberry and saskatoon berries. I’d say we started with about 2 dozen raspberry plants and a dozen saskatoons. Because I am such a lazy gardener I don’t do much to either of them. If I remember to tend and fertilize, I do, if not there’s always next year. This approach, coupled with nature’s own way of doing things, means some years we get minimal yields and others are fantastic. This past year was stellar, especially for the saskatoons, which  were as big as blueberries.

Because on planting day so many years ago my eyes were bigger than my stomach we end up with way more berries than we can use – even on a bad year. I give much away to friends and family and I freeze the rest for pies and smoothies. (Saskatoon pie is Steve’s favourite)

Saskatoon berries (Amelanchier alnifolia) are native to Canada and the American NW and are only just now beginning to get recognition for their incredible health benefits. They sustained native tribes on the northern prairie for hundreds of years both in their fresh and dried form. In the US they may be called pigeon berries in places where they grow wild, and Juneberries in the rare commercial market that you might find them in. They are very high in antioxidants and have a nutrient profile similar to that of blueberries. Their flavour is reminiscent of a blueberry but is unique at the same time. In areas where the weather is warm and dry native berries can be nearly inedible as they dry out before they ripen and become tasteless and seedy.

Since I’ve been brewing kombucha, I thought I’d try doing a flavoured batch with some of the berries that are remaining in my freezer. I brewed a batch of plain kombucha and filtered it into a mason jar. Then added about 2/3 of a cup of mixed berries and an extra teaspoon of sugar to kick start the second fermentation. It turned out really nice, with a mild flavour that is not too sweet. Funny enough it does not taste strongly of either berry but its colour is lovely and it reminds me of summer

Note: you could definitely substitute blueberries for the saskatoons in this recipe. Next time I make it, I will try crushing my berries a bit to see if the saskatoon flavour is enhanced.