Berry-picking is essential to the Alaskan experience. Here are a couple of books that will help you identify berries in the field and then process them at home.

Alaska’s Wild Berries and Berry-like Fruit Verna E. Pratt. Anchorage, AK: Alaskakrafts, Inc. 1995. 127 pp.

Verna Pratt is well known in Alaska. She is a respected for her knowledge of local ecosystems and is a respected authority on Alaskan wildflowers. She leads botanical field trips, teaches classes and gives lectures across the state. She founded the Alaska Native Plant Society and is a member of the Alaska Orchid Society, New England Wildflower Society, United Alaskan Artists, and the Wildflower Garden Club. In short, this is a woman who knows Alaska’s plants – and loves to share her knowledge of them.

One of her field guides covers Alaska’s wild fruits and berries. With approximately fifty species covered, the guide enables one to identify any of the wild berries that grow in Alaska. Edible species are organized by berry color; a section on poisonous varieties is included at the end of the book. The descriptions are written in simple terms; any botanical terms that are used (to describe leaf shape or placement, for example) are included in the standard glossary or pictorial glossary. Color photos of both fruit and flower are included, as well as brief descriptions of habitat, physical appearance, range map and uses.

This field guide is perfectly sized to throw in a backpack, pocket, or glove compartment, making it extremely useful for the traveler. It’s also a useful addition to any library of Alaska natural history.

Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook Anchorage, AK: Alaska Northwest Books. 1982. 201 pp.

“Nature provides us with no more delicious, nourishing or prolific food than the berries that grow in wild abandon throughout our Northern landscape.” Thus the editors at Alaska Northwest Books begin their collection of 277 recipes utilizing the wild berries of Alaska.

There are two parts to this book. The first section of approximately 50 pages constitute a field guide to Alaska’s Berries. The entries are organized by botanical family, which is only useful if one has a passing familiarity with characteristics of various plant families and is able to narrow choices down in that manner. The sharp photos and clear line drawings, though, help with positive identification once one has selected a candidate. Information included for each plant includes common name(s), scientific name, a statement of range and a brief physical description.

The second part of this book is the recipes. This is where the book shines, for it goes well beyond the typical recipes for pies, jams and jellies to include main courses (Cranberry Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce, for example), breads (I love the Spice Cranberry Bread), salads and dressings, relishes/catsups/chutneys, desserts (including a variety of pie recipes), beverages (Rose Hip Wine, anyone?), and candies. There is also a section on preserving berries through canning, freezing, or drying.

One of the best features of this book, in my opinion, is an index that allows one to look up a particular berry and find all the recipes that use that berry. If I have an overabundance of lowbush cranberries, for example, the index will point me to over 30 recipes in which I can use them, from wine to cake to syrup to the meatballs mentioned previously. There are three additional indexes to help with identification and cross-referencing of species: Index by Family Names, Index by Botanical Names, and Index by Common Names.

I certainly would not buy it as a field guide as the bulk of the book is the cookbook – not something one needs to take into the field (unless you’re planning on gourmet meals while on an extended backcountry trip, and even then, it may not be worth the extra weight and bulk). But if you are looking for new and creative ways to use up all those cranberries or currants or blueberries you picked this fall, you will certainly find something to tempt your palate amongst the recipes collected here.