If you ask anyone who grew up in rural or small-town in Western Canada about saskatoon berries, they’ll have a story to tell about picking them. I’m not talking about the conveniently cultivated U-Picks, where you park your car, grab your basket and head towards your allotted row. Oh no. I’m talking about wild saskatoons—those grown on bushes along river banks, in coulees and on hilly farmland across the Canadian plains.
The saskatoon berry gets its name from the Cree word misaskatomina meaning “fruit from the tree with many branches”. For many generations, the saskatoon berry has been a hardy prairie food source. Canada’s First Peoples picked, dried and pounded the berry with dried bison meat and fat to create pemmican, the preserved staple of their diet. They also dried the leaves and berries to make tea. The early settlers too relied on this nutritious berry to provide essential vitamins and nourishment.
Fruit from the western species Amelanchier alnifolia, the saskatoon berry resembles a blueberry, but botanically is related to the apple and the pear. Early French Canadians called it poires. Elsewhere in North America it is known as juneberry and serviceberry, but it’s nowhere as cherished as on the Canadian prairies, giving its name to the city of Saskatoon.
While the saskatoon berry may resemble the blueberry, anyone who has braved the prairie heat and countless mosquito attacks in July can tell you they taste nothing like each other.
Saskatoons have a musky, almost almond-like sweetness. And their deep purple skins and juice stain the hands as you pick them off the gnarled bushes. When they’re baked into juicy pies or preserved in jam jars of the darkest purple, I swear you can taste their history in every bite.
For prairie settlers, pie was frugal food. It was made with ingredients that were readily available and inexpensive – flour, butter, lard, cream, raisins, rhubarb, and wild berries, such as saskatoons. During harvest, womenfolk would feed threshing crews of 15-20 hungry men, with many pies served for dessert, saskatoon berry chief among them.
Saskatoon berry pie is a classic prairie treat. If you were lucky to have grown up with it, that first forkful of glistening purple berry filling and buttery pastry takes you back to Sunday suppers, holiday feasts, community potluck dinners, and lunch at the local diner. Of course, there’s more than one way to make Saskatchewan’s famous pie. Some bakers swear by a cooked berry filling, which uses cornstarch as a thickening agent and lemon juice for a bit of acidity. A small amount of baking powder is a secret ingredient that aids in a silky-smooth filling. This type of berry filling was popular before the arrival of freezers, was prepared during peak saskatoon berry season and canned for winter pies. If you were to visit a prairie kitchen during this time, without a doubt you would find jars and jars of this deep-purple goodness neatly lined up on cellar shelves.
The other method to making this delicious pie is to use fresh or frozen saskatoon berries. You’ll want to give them a good looking over once they’re dumped from the pail and into a strainer. Be on the lookout for twigs and little wormy creatures. If you’re unable to make the pie within a couple of days, your best bet is to pour washed and drained berries onto a parchment-lined baking sheet then transfer to a freezer. Once they’re frozen solid, pack them into resealable plastic bags and label with the date. When you’re ready to bake pie, just stir the frozen berries with sugar, cornstarch and tumble into a prepared pastry shell. Some bakers like to add pure almond extract or lemon juice to the filling, and others, like me, like to keep it simple. Be sure to dot the berries with butter to ensure a luscious filling. The top crust can be left whole, vented with a few slits and crimped around the edges, or you can cut the pastry into strips and weave in the pattern of a lattice or basket. Both offer up tremendous visual appeal, and are a great delight to eat.
Saskatoon Berry Pie
Ingredients
Large Batch Pastry
- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter cubed
- 1 cup cold shortening cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- Ice-cold water
Filling
- 5 cups saskatoon berries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar divided
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter cubed
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- To make the pastry, place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the cubes of butter and shortening and mix them in (I like to use my hands to mix the fat into the flour, but you can use a pastry blender) just until it looks like coarse oatmeal with some pea-sized bits remaining. Place the egg in a 2-cup measure and beat it with a fork. Beat in the vinegar and just enough ice-cold water to bring it to the 1-cup mark. Stir this into the flour mixture, just until the dough clings together. I like to use my hands for this part as well, but a wooden spoon would also work. Try not to overmix it.
- On a lightly floured surface, gather the dough into a ball and divide it into 5 evenly sized portions. Shape each portion into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill 2 of these discs for 1 hour. Freeze the other 3 in a resealable freezer bag for future use. The pastry keeps well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to catch drippings.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disc of pastry into a 12-inch circle, or thereabouts. Place it in the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate, with the pastry overhanging the edges of the pie plate.
- To make the filling, place the saskatoon berries in a large bowl and stir in the 1/2 cup sugar and the cornstarch until well combined. Pour the berry mixture into the bottom of the pie. Dot with the butter. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry in another 12-inch circle for the top crust. Use a ruler to guide you when cutting the pastry into 6 wide, long strips to keep the edges straight. Save the 2 end pieces in case you need to do any patching. I like wide strips, but if you like a thinner look, feel free to cut thin strips of pastry. Weave the pastry strips, going over and under, making sure they connect with the edges of the pie crust. Fold over the edges of the bottom crust, tucking in the lattice ends. This will help to trap the juices and give a rustic look.
- If you prefer a cleaner, tidier look, you can trim the overhanging pieces and crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the remaining Tbsp sugar. Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and bake it for about 90 – 100 minutes, until it’s golden brown and bubbling. Remove the pie from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
- Serve the pie warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 servings. This keeps well if covered with plastic and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Hungry for more? Check out these Classic Canadian Dishes:
- In a Jam(Jam): The History of Jam Jams in Canada
- Meat Pie Magic: The History of Tourtière
- Triple Threat: A History of the Nanaimo Bar
- Delicious Squared: History of Date Squares
- The History of Pea Soup in Canada
- The History of Baked Beans in Canada
- The History of the Iconic Jiggs Dinner
- Classic Canadian Dishes: Pouding Chômeur
- Classic Canadian Dishes: The Lobster Roll
- Classic Canadian Dishes: Cod au Gratin
Recipe and photo from All the Sweet Things, by Renée Kohlman
(TouchWood Editions, 2017).
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