Berries of Newfoundland; when to pick?

The berries of Newfoundland, an island off of Canadian’s coast come in many shades and flavors. The landscape, barrens, fields and coasts offer perfect growing conditions for strawberries, raspberries, cloudberries, blueberries, blackberries, bunchberries, snowberries and partridge berries to name a few.

With an abundance of all those Newfoundland berries it goes without saying that this is perfect for many winter provisions. Great ways of preserving them is by bagging them and freezing them for future smoothies and baked goods. Another great alternative is to make preserves or to dry them.

August tends to be the best month to pick most of the berries on the island. However keep in mind that the following times for when to pick berries of Newfoundland will change from year to year depending on the weather. Some years summer comes earlier than others.

 

When to pick the many berries of Newfoundland?

Strawberries

These are the early ones although not quite as early as in the rest of Canada. They tend to show up late June or early July. Whip some cream, add a few edible rose petals, throw a bunch of wild strawberries in and drizzle with honey and you’ll have the perfect light and fresh summer dessert.

*This year I stumbled onto ripe white strawberries in both July and August, a real treat.

Raspberries

My personal favorites. Those ones have that sweet flavor and are usually ripe in August, but you can often find some in early September as well. Beware of thorns, they tend to get stuck in your skin.

Cloudberries or bakeapples

Every year I seemed to miss out on those ones but this year they were everywhere in July. High in vitamin C they have somewhat of a bitter taste. Really good once cooked with a little extra sugar.

Blueberries

Almost everyone knows about those little dark bluish berries. And here in Newfoundland they seem to grow everywhere from near the coast to the top of mountains. Plus you can quickly pick them throughout August and September depending of where you go.

Bunchberries or cracker berries

I remember walking through my parents’ forest in Quebec from a young age and picking those everywhere and then I found them here. Not overly flavorful but they have that nice crunchiness. They usually ripen in August.

Snowberries

They are everywhere on the forest floor in August. I use to call them tic tacs when I was young. Their minty taste makes them nature’s breath freshener.

Blackberries

Usually ripe early September but this year I seem to have been a little too late for them. Blackberries have thick thorns so wear some pants when trying to walk through the plants. Those ones are exquisite but I haven’t seen them in too many locations around Newfoundland.

Partridge berries

They are the later berries and can be picked around October. So much tastier than cranberries. I love to pick those and to make a sauce with orange zest and ginger.

 

And there are many more types of berries across the island but the following ones are berries of Newfoundland which I am most familiar with. So enjoy the flavors and get picking!

 

Alex