 Collecting wild berries is a favored pastime here in Alaska. Some people pick berries for fun, family tradition, or to spend time in the outdoors. Regardless of whatever reason you choose to pick berries, you'll end up with a fresh, wholesome, tasty, and nutritious food that your family will love. I'm Helen Izzork, and this is Marcia Munsell. We are nutrition educators with the Cooperative Extension Service. This lesson will help you decide what berries are available, where to look for them, and what to do with them once they are picked. First, let's look at what you need to take with you when you go. You'll need to take shallow containers with lids. If the containers are too large, berries on the bottom will be crushed by the weight of those on top. A cooler to keep berries cool on the trip home. Take boots to protect your feet. A jacket to keep you warm and dry. Water to drink, and some snacks. Pack all of these items in your backpack along with insect repellent. Insects are particularly pesky during berry season. Remember to pick a combination of ripe and underripe berries, especially if you're making gelled products. Underripe berries have a higher level of pectin, and will ensure that jellies and jams thicken properly. Berries ripen differently depending on the weather during any certain year. Cooler temperatures, heavy rains, or lots of sunshine can hasten or slow the ripening process. Here is a general calendar of the order that berries ripen. Wild strawberry, raspberry, black currants, red currant, cloudberry, salmonberry, blueberry, high-bush cranberry, nagoonberry, serviceberry, crowberry, low-bush cranberries. Most berries are best when picked at the height of their ripeness during the summer. Though some berries, such as low-bush cranberries, crowberries, and rose hips, may be picked after frost. This is a matter of personal choice, as some people feel that these berries are sweeter after the frost. Though we often want to wait for the frost to pick high-bush cranberries, they actually have a better flavor in late summer before the frost. Another thing to keep in mind while you are berry picking is to keep watch for wildlife, bears like berries too, and a watchful eye is very important while you are in the berry patch. Make noise as you go through the woods. Most wildlife will scurry out of your way if they see or hear you coming. Sing, talk, and yell to make sure you don't surprise a bear. So where do you look for berries? Many berry pickers won't tell you where their favorite picking spots are. But here is some general information about where to begin. Look for areas where the ground has been disturbed for building or where a fire has occurred. There is a natural progression following a wildfire. When the fire burns off the brush and trees, the berries returning are the first step in reforestation. So look at areas of recent burns first. Check out the edges of the road for favorites like raspberries, bogs for those berries that like their feet wet, and south-facing sunny slopes. Each berry has a different habitat, so let's take a quick look at the ten most sought after berries in Alaska and describe their habitat. As we begin discussing these berries and their habitat, there are a few definitions that may help you to identify different types of plants. Juniper-like leaves are thin with glossy green needle-shaped leaves. Lobed leaves are thin and have several points. Toothed leaves are thin as well but have a jagged edge. A bog is an area with moist spongy ground, often with standing water. Alpine is defined as an area where plants grow above the timber line. Tundra is treeless land, oftentimes it is damp, but can also be dry and rocky. Now let's take a look at our favorite berries. Blueberries grow on an erect shrub up to two feet high. The leaves are small and oval. There are three main types of blueberries in Alaska. The bog blueberry grows in the bogs, woodlands, as well as tundra up into the alpine areas. Flowers are bell-shaped and light pink. Early blueberries are found in the moist coastal forests and meadows. The Alaska blueberry grows on a shrub, upright to six feet tall in the southeast and in south-central. Look for dark fruit that has a whitish bloom on the surface. Cloudberries are an aggregate fruit, similar to the raspberry, but have a soft orange color. They grow in bogs, wet woodlands, and moist tundra. The plant is very short, usually no more than five inches tall. The leaves are rounded with three to five lobes and have toothed edges. It grows in all parts of Alaska. Crowberries. Crowberries look similar to the blueberry, but the plant has almost juniper-like needles. It grows in woods, bogs, and wet and dry tundra. The shrub is a low-trailing evergreen that forms mats on the ground. It is found throughout Alaska on the alpine muskeg of southeastern Alaska, north to Yakutat and west to Kodiak, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands, and on the tundra throughout interior Alaska, north to the Arctic. Currants. You can find both red and black varieties of currents. Red currents can grow from one and a half to five feet high, with reddish-brown shredding bark on the twigs. They have three to five lobed, toothed leaves. They grow in moist woodlands and clearings. The black current grows in southeastern Alaska, north to Skagway and Yakutat, Kenai, and central Alaska. It grows in woods and rocky outcroppings up into the alpine. Highbush cranberries. Highbush cranberries grow on a shrub up to eight feet high with slender gray branches. Leaves are almost maple leaf-like, with either three lobes or not lobed at all, with the edges coarsely toothed. It grows in woods and in meadows from lowlands into alpine area. Highbush cranberries have a distinctive musty odor and flavor. The fruit has a single cream-colored disc-shaped seed. Lingnanberries. Lingnanberries or lowbush cranberries grow on an evergreen vine that has small, thick, oval leaves with a whitish underside and edges that roll under. This is a very small plant that is usually less than six inches tall. It can be found in bogs, woods, and dry tundra. Stems are very slender, often creeping through the moss. Nagoonberries. Nagoonberries are another short plant that grow only five to six inches tall. Each leaf has three toothed leaflets and coarse veins. It is found in damp or wet woody places in coastal and interior Alaska, as well as coastal districts of southeastern Alaska, the Gulf of Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Bering Sea. Razberries. Razberries grow in clearings, dry meadows, and on the edges of woods, about two to four feet high. Leaves have three to five leaflets and a whitish hairy underside. The raspberry looks very similar to those that are grown commercially, with small droops and fine white hairs. Salmonberries. Salmonberries grow on a shrub from one and a half to seven feet tall. The stem is woody and the bark is yellowish-brown. Be careful when picking because shrubs may have some prickles. Leaves have three to five leaflets. The fruit is similar to raspberries in appearance, but is usually larger and may vary from yellow to dark red. Serviceberries. Serviceberries grow on a shrub or tree from six to sixteen feet tall. Leaves are one to two inches long with toothed edges and a thin, prominent vein. They grow in dry exposed areas from sea level up to the subalpine. It grows in thickets and borders of woods. Soapberry or Sopalalli. The soapberry or Sopalalli is a red berry that grows in dry areas, as well as woodlands and on gravel bars next to rivers. The shrub can be up to four feet high with brownish, scaly bark. The leaves are oval with dark green leaves near the top of the bush and lighter green leaves toward the bottom. The fruit is somewhat bitter but is used in many areas of Alaska. The berry froths when beaten. It is traditionally used as a dessert topping with the addition of sugar to the froth. Wild strawberries. Wild strawberries look very much like regular strawberries, but the plants aren't as large or robust as commercial strawberries. Leaves are on long, slender stalks. There are three leaves in a group with margins sharply and deeply toothed. The fruit is oval and small and up to one inch long. Watermelon berries. Watermelon berries are red berries that grow on a shrub from 18 to 40 inches tall. The leaves are sharply pointed but have smooth edges and parallel veins. The fruit is oval, juicy and sweet. The berry grows in the moist woods and meadows from sea level to low alpine, mostly in the southern part of the state. More berries will be shown at the end of the module. Okay, now the berries have been picked. What do we do with those berries for long and short term storage? As soon as you get home, refrigerate the berries or keep them in the cooler to keep them fresh until you're able to process them. Remember that more nutrients are preserved when you process the berries quickly, so aim to get them in the refrigerator or freezer the same day that they were picked. Next, we'll move on to equipment. Cleaning and preparing berries for storage is a simple process. You'll need a cutting board or a cookie sheet, a towel, plastic freezer containers, freezer bags and a marker. Berries should be cleaned as soon as possible. It is not necessary to wash them unless they were growing near a road or populated area where there is a danger of dust or other impurities. Clean the berries by wrapping a towel around a board or cookie sheet, elevating one end and rolling the berries down the surface. Leaves and other debris will stick to the towel. Proper hold the board at a fairly low angle so you don't bruise the berries. Gentle rolling is the key to removing the debris but not harming the berries. We'll be back when we finish cleaning these berries. Now that the berries are cleaned, they are ready to store by freezing, drying or canning. We'll be referring to Alaska's wild berries for specific information on how to preserve your berries. So let's talk about freezing. One of the most popular ways to save your berries is to freeze them. Berries may be packed with syrup, sugar or dry-packed. Work in small quantities. This will prevent loss of quality and nutrients. Most berries have a better texture and flavor if packed in sugar or syrup. However, the sugar is not necessary to safely preserve the fruit. If you are watching your sugar intake, choose to do a dry-pack. The type of pack you choose should be based on the intended use. Those packed in syrup are great for uncooked desserts. Those dry-packed or packed in sugar are best for cooking purposes since there is less liquid in the product. So, you'll need berries, sugar, water. Freezer containers are bags and a marker for labeling. When preparing berries, don't use galvanized copper or iron equipment. The acid in the berries could react with the metals, forming off flavors. There is a difference in plastic storage bags. The freezer bags are considerably thicker than storage bags. Always choose the freezer thickness to protect your product from freezer burn. If you can only get the thinner bags, use two bags for extra protection. Next, we'll discuss packing berries in syrup. A syrup pack is a good way to preserve berries that are to be eaten uncooked. The proportion of sugar to water depends on the sweetness of the berries. For most of our Alaska berries, we recommend a medium syrup. Mix and dissolve two and a half cups of sugar in four cups of water. It's easiest to dissolve the sugar in lukewarm water, but then chill the syrup before using. Warm syrup will deteriorate the berries. You'll need one cup of syrup for four cups of prepared berries. Put berries in the container and pour syrup over until the berries are covered, leaving one inch head space. Seal tightly. Label with the berry name, amount and date. Get the berries in the freezer quickly to preserve both the quality and the flavor. A sugar pack is a good way to freeze berries that are to be cooked. Sprinkle one half cup sugar over four cups of berries. You can mix gently until the juice is drawn out and the sugar dissolves. But with delicate berries such as raspberries, it's easiest to layer the sugar in the berries and then let them stand for 15 minutes. Don't stir the berries, they will deteriorate. You can see the difference between the berries that have just been sprinkled with sugar and these that have been sitting. Fill pint or quart size freezer bags three to four inches from their tops. Squeeze out the air and seal tightly. Label with the berry name, the amount and the date. Now they're ready for freezing. Next, let's talk about how to dry pack. A dry pack is a good way to freeze whole fruits that give a good quality product without sugar. We recommend this method for raspberries and strawberries. Place dry, fresh berries in plastic freezer bags or containers. Seal tightly and label containers. Berries frozen in this manner may need to be used in recipes where whole separated berries are not important. To keep whole berries separated, spread the fruit on a cookie sheet, freeze until hard and then transfer to bags or containers. This will keep berries frozen individually so they are easier to use a few at a time. That's it for freezing. We'll be back in a minute to can berries. Berries are high in acid so are safely canned in the boiling water canner. The best source of instructions for home canning are available from the USDA and the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Alaska Fairbanks. You'll need a boiling water canner or similar large pot, a large spoon, a jar lifter, a magnetic lid lifter, a ladle, a canning funnel, jars, two-piece lids, clean towels or paper towels, and clean hotpads. To begin canning, wash jars and prepare lids according to manufacturer's directions. Jars should be clean but it isn't necessary to sterilize them if they are processed for at least 10 minutes. Berries may be covered with your choice of apple or white grape juice, syrup, or water. A hot or a raw pack may be used. Let's go through each method. For a hot pack method, place berries in a boiling syrup juice or water and boil for 30 seconds. Fill clean jars with the hot berries and the juice or syrup, leaving one-half inch head space. Wipe the edge of the jar with a clean paper towel or cotton towel and attached prepared lids and rings. Hand tighten and then process in a boiling water canner. Fill your canner with hot water and preheat to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. 140 degrees Fahrenheit for raw packs. Load hot filled jars into the canner making sure that the jars have at least one inch of water over the top of the jars. Add hot water if needed. Cover with canner lid. When the water boils vigorously, lower heat to maintain a gentle steady boil. Then start the timer for the recommended processing time. Half pints, pints, or quarts when hot packed are processed for 15 minutes. For raw pack, process the pints for 15 minutes. When processing quarts, using the raw pack method, process for 20 minutes. If you need additional information on hot water processing, refer to our module for specific information. After processing time is completed, remove jars from the canner with a lid lifter and place on a towel or rack. Do not re-tighten rings. Air cool jars for 12 to 24 hours and then check seals. An indented top indicates sealing. Use a spoon and tap gently on the lid. A clear ringing sound indicates a sealed jar while a dull thud tells us it hasn't sealed. Label jars and store them in a clean, cool, dark place. If the lid did not seal, the jar may be re-processed using a fresh lid or it can be refrigerated and used immediately. Or the headspace can be adjusted to one inch and the product can be frozen. Berries are best if consumed within one year and safe as long as lids remain vacuum sealed. Let's take a look at other berries that you may find during your berry picking outings. This is a list of the palatable berries. Bear berry, timber berry, bunch berry, rose hips, elder berry, crab apple, thimble berry. Now let's take a thorough look at those berries that are poisonous. There are only a few but they should be avoided at all costs. Bain berry grows in the woods and on dry hillsides. The leaves are sharply pointed with three or five leaflets. Berries are red or white and opaque with a shiny surface and a black dot. The berries are on a stalk separated from the leaves. A few berries if eaten by a child can kill. Devil's Club grows in coastal forests and forms a shrub up to 12 feet tall. The leaves are large and maple shaped with spines on the leaves. The berries are bright red on a separate stalk. Wild Calla lives in shallow water along the edges of lakes and slow-moving streams. The leaves are heart-shaped and have a thick stem. The berry fruits with a soft red berry. The entire plant contains poisonous acids. Never eat a berry you can't positively identify. If you don't have a good berry identification book be sure to purchase one. As with many wild products the production of berries is dependent on the weather, rainfall and even the presence of insects. So one year there may be an abundance of blueberries and the next there may be none. Ask your friends and neighbors about the berries they've seen and you'll know what to plan for each year. Whether you find lots of berries or just a few, berry picking is always a great way to see the beautiful Alaskan countryside get some exercise and some good fresh air. Happy picking!