Fruit Ripening and Picking Guides
Meet the fruits of Toronto!
Serviceberries
Cree: misaskwatomin
Ojibwe: gozigwaakomin
Potawatomi: bozakmin
Summary
Serviceberries may have many names (Saskatoon, Juneberry, Shadbush, Shadblow, Sugarplum, Sarvis) but they all share the same sweet taste. Unlike many of the fruit Toronto’s urban orchard has to offer, serviceberry is Indigenous to this part of Turtle Island, and the berries were not the only part of the plant eaten: leaves, petals and small stems have been boiled and consumed as beverages. They produce clusters of white flowers that bloom from April to June, and small red to dark purple blueberry-like berries that grow on small shrubs (less than one storey tall).
Read about the serviceberry’s role in Indigenous wisdom in The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Jump To
Average Ripening Timeline: mid June to mid July
Ripeness Indicators
- Color When Ripe: the darker the colour of the fruit, the higher sugar content, so a dark purple berry will taste much sweeter than a red one. Berries will be very dark red, purple, and/or blue.
- Feel & Texture When Ripe: berries should pull/detach easily from tree
- Taste & Smell When Ripe: berries will taste sweet
- Underripe if…bright red or white
- Overripe if…mushy, wrinkled, or discoloured
How to Harvest
Average Yield: 10 to 20 lbs
- Hand-picking is best; the berries are small and fragile
- Saskatoons grow in bunches with several berries growing in clumps throughout the tree. Break away the entire bunch from the tree. Once the bunches have been removed, wrap your hand around the bunch of saskatoon berries and gently slide your hand down, popping each berry off as you go.
- Vibrating the branches over a taut tarp or bedsheet is a good way to spend less time picking and more time sorting.
- Leave red and pink berries on the tree.
- Saskatoons are one of the rare berries that you want to remove from the stem when picking.
- Under ripe saskatoons can be harvested, but should be processed as they lack the sweetness of a ripe berry.
How to Store and Eat
Storing
Serviceberries will continue to ripen off the tree. Strip the stems, and leave them at room temperature or place them in a paper bag to ripen within 1-2 days. Keep an eye on the berries as they can go from unripe to rotten quickly!
Ripened serviceberries can be left at cool room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Fridge: Saskatoons store well in the fridge, but only wash them as you use them. Wetting the berries will cause them to expire more quickly. Keep for about 2 weeks
- Freezer: Strip the stems, rinse and blot dry. Freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet for a few hours. Transfer to a freezer bag and use within 6-12 months
Ideas for Eating
Use anywhere you would use blueberries, but note that they have less moisture than blueberries.
Eating fresh; baking; cooking; jam