Homemade Saskatoon Berry Juice: The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning, Juicing, and Enjoying Fresh Berries
Unleash the delicious potential of unique saskatoon berries by easily transforming them into a delightful juice. This comprehensive guide covers everything from my mom’s ingenious method for cleaning saskatoons to crafting the perfect batch of refreshing juice.
The saskatoon berry season is a cherished time of year, and I find myself, most days, at the tail end of our picking adventures, with tell-tale purple fingers and lips. This year’s crop has been exceptionally generous, yielding an abundance of these vibrant, sweet berries. As the season draws to a close, we’re now gathering the last of them – those intensely sweet, very ripe, and sometimes slightly shriveled berries that, despite their appearance, are bursting with concentrated flavor. While they might not be as plump and juicy as the early harvest, these late-season gems are absolutely perfect for making juice.
With buckets overflowing, it’s undeniably time to transform these wonderful berries into refreshing juice. On a hot summer day, after spending hours under the sun, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as guzzling a glass of cool, homemade saskatoon juice. It’s a taste of summer, bottled up and ready to enjoy.
I often find that the picking process is a family affair, and if I’m particularly lucky, I can rope the men in our family into lending a helping hand. Their dedication to filling buckets is always appreciated!
Once we’ve gathered a good haul, perhaps a few pails brimming with these beautiful berries, it’s time to pause, relax, and rehydrate.
This is where the magic of homemade saskatoon juice truly shines. There’s nothing quite like sipping on a cool, refreshing drink made from your own efforts.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to clean some of yesterday’s harvest and prepare a fresh batch of saskatoon juice, which is now perfectly chilled in the refrigerator, ready to quench our thirst. Before we delve into the juicing process itself, a crucial first step is to ensure your berries are impeccably clean. This is where my mom’s ingenious and efficient method for cleaning saskatoon berries – or indeed, any freshly picked berries – comes into play.
How to Clean Saskatoon Berries Efficiently
Freshly picked saskatoons, while delightful, can often contain a mix of natural debris: tiny leafy bits, small twigs, unripe or shriveled berries, and sometimes even unwanted little critters that hitched a ride in your pail. Proper cleaning is essential not only for taste and hygiene but also for the quality and longevity of your juice or frozen berries.
My cleaning process is a straightforward two-step approach: first, a meticulous pick-over, followed by a thorough wash. This combination ensures that only the best berries make it into your recipes.
To begin the pick-over stage, I set up a specialized “picking station” designed for maximum efficiency and comfort. This setup makes the typically tedious task surprisingly quick and even enjoyable.
At a comfortable table, I place a large cookie sheet or baking tray with its shorter end facing me. The key is to slightly elevate the far end of the tray by one or two inches, using a sturdy book (an old phone book works perfectly) or a small block. The resulting slant should be subtle enough that the berries don’t roll down spontaneously but are easily nudged with your fingers. To my right, I keep a small bowl specifically for discarding the “duds”—anything undesirable—and a larger, clean bowl positioned on my left to collect the perfectly cleaned berries.
I then carefully pour two to three generous handfuls of saskatoons onto the elevated end of the cookie sheet. Using both hands, I gently coax and roll small portions of the berries down the inclined surface toward me. As the berries slowly descend, any leaves, twigs, shriveled or unripe berries, or tiny insects (like the occasional stinkbug or ant) become incredibly easy to spot against the flat surface. This method allows for quick identification and removal, ensuring that only pristine berries proceed to the next stage. It’s a brilliant system, truly a testament to my mom’s practical wisdom.
Once a section of berries has been thoroughly inspected and all undesirable elements removed, I simply scoop the clean berries into the large bowl. Then, I pour another batch onto the pan, repeating the process. This method, while seemingly intricate, is remarkably fast and efficient, allowing me to process a full pail of berries in a surprisingly short amount of time.
After I’ve amassed a large bowlful of hand-picked berries, the second step is washing. I fill my kitchen sink with cold water and gently pour the cleaned berries into it. I swirl them around with my hand a few times to dislodge any remaining dust or surface debris. Then, I let the water settle for a few seconds. This is where a clever trick comes in: the lighter, drier, or slightly less perfect berries (often those that are shriveled or less juicy) will float to the surface. The heavier, juicier, and more ideal berries will sink to the bottom.
Using my hands or a fine-mesh strainer, I carefully scoop out all the berries floating on top of the water and place them into one colander to drain. These lighter berries are perfectly suited for making juice, as their flavor is often more concentrated, even if they are a little less plump. Think of them as natural saskatoon raisins, bursting with intense berry essence. Subsequently, I retrieve the heavier, denser, and juicier berries from the bottom of the sink and place them into a separate colander to drain. These are ideal for freezing, destined for desserts, smoothies, or baking where their plumpness is a distinct advantage.
Once both batches of berries have drained for about an hour, ensuring excess moisture is removed, I transfer the heavier, juicier berries into heavy-duty zip-top freezer bags. I carefully label them with the date and type of berry, then freeze them to preserve their freshness for future use in delicious desserts and smoothies. The lighter berries, those that floated to the top during washing, are now perfectly prepared for their ultimate destiny: becoming a rich, flavorful saskatoon juice concentrate.
How to Make Saskatoon Juice
Making saskatoon juice can be approached in a couple of ways, depending on the volume you’re aiming for. If I’m producing large quantities of juice for canning or to make a big batch of saskatoon jelly, I typically rely on my trusty three-part steam juicer (visible on the left in the image below). This method extracts pure juice with minimal effort. However, for a smaller, more immediate batch of refreshing juice for drinking, I opt for the simpler stovetop method: cooking the berries directly in water in a saucepan (as shown on the right).
For the stovetop method, the process is wonderfully straightforward. You’ll begin by simmering your cleaned saskatoon berries with water until they soften and release their vibrant juices. Once cooked, gently pour the berry mixture into a colander or fine-mesh sieve that has been set over a large bowl. This setup allows the rich, flavorful juice to slowly drip through, collecting in the bowl below. Resist the urge to press the berries, as this can result in a cloudy juice. Instead, allow them to drain naturally until they have cooled to lukewarm and no more juice is dripping out—this can take an hour or even more, but patience yields the best results.
And there you have it – your very own homemade saskatoon juice concentrate! The aroma alone is invigorating, a true essence of summer.
Below, you’ll find a detailed recipe for making saskatoon juice, but please consider it more of a guideline than a strict rule. I often don’t even measure the berries precisely. My go-to approach is simply to fill a pot about three-quarters full with cleaned berries, then add just enough water to barely cover them. I then bring it to a simmer, cook until soft, drain the juice, and finally, add lemon juice and my preferred sweetener to taste. The beauty of this method is its adaptability; it works wonderfully with all types of berries, whether fresh from the bush or frozen from last season’s harvest. This versatility makes it an indispensable recipe for enjoying the refreshing taste of summer any time of year.
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How to Make Saskatoon Juice
Margaret Bose Johnson
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Ingredients
- 4 cups (1 litre/about 600grams) cleaned saskatoon berries or other berries, fresh or frozen
- 2 cups (500ml) water
- juice of half a lemon
- honey to taste about 3 tablespoons, or other sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Place the cleaned saskatoons and water into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan, and allow it to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The berries should soften and release their vibrant juices. Once cooked, carefully pour the entire contents into a colander or fine-mesh sieve that you’ve set over a large, clean bowl to collect the juice. Let it drain naturally until the liquid has cooled to lukewarm and no more juice drips out. This essential straining process can take an hour or even longer, so patience is key for a clear, delicious juice.
- Once the juice has collected, add the fresh juice of half a lemon and your preferred sweetener (such as honey or sugar) to taste. Whisk the mixture gently until the sweetener is completely dissolved. Remember that this is a concentrated juice, so it will taste sweeter than what you’ll serve; it’s meant to be diluted.
- You should yield approximately 3 cups of saskatoon juice concentrate from this recipe, though the exact amount may vary slightly depending on the juiciness of your berries.
- To serve: For a perfectly balanced drink, mix 1 part saskatoon juice concentrate with 2 to 3 parts water or sparkling club soda, adjusting the ratio to suit your taste preference. You can prepare a pitcher for immediate enjoyment or store the concentrate in the refrigerator and mix individual glasses as needed. This homemade saskatoon juice concentrate will keep well in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
This versatile method for making juice works beautifully with all types of fresh or frozen berries, allowing you to enjoy homemade berry juice year-round.
Guten Appetit!
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In addition to this fantastic juice, saskatoon berries are incredibly versatile and can be used in a wide array of culinary creations. Explore these other tasty saskatoon berry recipes to make the most of your harvest:
- Saskatoon Pickle: A surprisingly delicious savory condiment that pairs wonderfully with meats.
- Saskatoon Roll or Saskatoon Cobbler (And How to Freeze Your Saskatoon Berries): Classic comfort desserts perfect for showcasing fresh or frozen berries.
- Old Fashioned Saskatoon Pie: The quintessential saskatoon dessert, rich with berry flavor.
- Canned Saskatoons and Saskatoon-Peach Preserve: Excellent ways to preserve the bounty of the season for year-round enjoyment.
- Saskatoon Jelly: A vibrant, sweet spread perfect for toast or pastries.
- Prairie Mess (Eton Mess with Saskatoons and Rhubarb): A delightful and easy-to-make dessert combining berries with meringue and cream.
- Gluten Free Saskatoon Scones: A delicious, light, and airy treat for those avoiding gluten.
- Saskatoon Muffins: A breakfast or snack favorite, studded with sweet berries.
- Saskatoon Slump: A rustic, homey dessert that’s quick to prepare and incredibly satisfying.
- Saskatoon Ice Cream Made with Homemade Saskatoon Jelly: A creamy, dreamy frozen delight bursting with berry essence.
- Pork Chops with Saskatoon and Green Apple Chutney: A savory option, proving the versatility of saskatoons in main dishes.