The Wild Berries You Can Find Growing Within The City Limits Of Seattle, Washington

It's hard to explain the thrill you get upon finding fruits and vegetables growing in the wild. The sense of discovery is part of what makes foraging such a fun activity. If you can go out and track down wild strawberries, or edible mushrooms, or even an apple tree growing wild somewhere, that's pretty cool. Most of us who live in urban areas associate these kinds of things with rural life and farmland. But even outside of backyard gardens, there are places in the city where you can sometimes stumble upon wild fruits. In the city of Seattle, Washington, you can even find wild salmonberries if you know where to look.

For those who live in Seattle or who may be visiting, the University of Washington Arboretum is home to wild salmonberry plants that grow along the creek and in other moist areas. They also grow along the 20-mile stretch of the Burke-Gilman Trail. Carkeek Park, the Discovery Park Loop Trail, and Ravenna Park are all places where the berries grow naturally. In general, salmonberries can be picked when they are ripe from May through July, typically in moist areas near ponds and streams.

Salmonberry fruits resemble raspberries at first glance, though they do not achieve that same red color. Instead, salmonberries are typically yellow, orange, and pink. Because the fruit is not cultivated, you'll need to forage if you want to try them for yourself. Salmonberries have long been used in the cuisine of Indigenous people along the Pacific Coast and up to Alaska. One theory on how the berries got their name is because they look like salmon roe.

There are a number of ways to make use of salmonberries — and it's not just the berries, but the shoots of the plant as well. Like bamboo, young salmonberry shoots can be eaten raw or they can be steamed. The berries themselves were often enjoyed with salmon, which is another potential source for the name. They can be eaten raw, cooked into jams and jellies, or made into salmonberry pie.

The berries can be used to make a traditional Inuit recipe called akutaq, which is similar to ice cream but requires whipping fat in with the fruit. Some recipes call for fish like salmon to be boiled down and squeezed dry, then mixed with Crisco, sugar, evaporated milk, and the berries. Other versions require fish broth or fat from a moose or bear. More modern recipes are closer to what you might expect of traditional ice cream. They omit the fish or animal fat and use Crisco, milk, and sugar mixed with salmonberries or other seasonal berries.

The berries are best enjoyed when they are fresh, so if you're looking for something delicious and local to Washington State, grab them when you get a chance. Just about anything you can do with a raspberry, you can do with a salmonberry. That means if you are looking to make jam, salmonberry vanilla sorbet, a flavored frosting for a cake, a crumble, or a fruit salad, you can incorporate salmonberries if you can gather enough of them. Have fun foraging, and watch out for prickles.