If Blueberry and Apple Had a Baby

If Blueberry and Apple Had a Baby

Saskatoon  Berries (aka. Serviceberry; Amelanchier alnifolia) is a lesser-known  blue berry native to North America, but with twice the antioxidant  capacity of Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.).
 

Actually, the  Saskatoon is not a berry but a pome, botanically speaking, as it is from  the Rose family. Because of this, one of its many benefits is how it  maintains its structure after cooking.
 

This berry is close to  my heart as it brings me back to childhood days of picking Saskatoons  with my grandma in the Prairies of Saskatchewan, and then enjoying her  uber-delicious Saskatoon Berry pies. So, I can really appreciate the  deliciousness of a berry-like pome!
 

As they are found in their  native range as far north as the Yukon, you might imagine they can  handle some cold temperatures, in fact, down to -60 degrees  C. Coincidently, an infusion of the inner-bark is used by Native  Americans for snow-blindness (yes, that is a thing in Canada 😳 ). To my  surprise and delight, my baby Saskatoon Berry shrub just produced these  beautiful berries in my very mild climate of the California Central  Coast.
 

The Saskatoon has a long history of use as food, medicine  and other uses by the Native Americans, who used every part of the  bush. Now having an expanded market, Saskatoons are enjoyed raw or  cooked in preserves, pies, wines, beers, trail mixes, etc.
 

Saskatoons  are one of the key ingredients of pemmican, a dried meat and berry  mixture of Native Americans.  The leaves of the Saskatoon bush have also  been used as a tea substitute, the young branches twisted to make rope  and for basket making, and the older wood used for making implements. A  berry preparation has been used as a laxative, for digestive complaints,  and externally for ear and eye drops. A decoction of the roots also  used for colds. A tea made from the leaves has been used for balancing  blood sugar and promoting heart health. Other uses have been for aiding  in afterbirth and birth control. Through scientific investigation, the  Sasktaoon has been found to exhibit antioxidant, antifungal, antiviral,  antitumor, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-obesity and cardioprotective  activities.
 

#ethnobotany #MedicinalPlants #Ethnopharm #saskatoon #serviceberry #amelanchier #saskatoonberry #antioxidant #canada #blueberry
 

**This  content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not  intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice  or treatment from a personal physician.

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