Oregon Coast Wild Berry Sauce

Recently, I spent some time at the Oregon coast. I grew up in Northwestern Oregon and lived very near the coast for several years, so it's nice to go back sometimes. While I was there, I couldn't resist spending some time in the woods picking a variety of edible wild berries. I've really missed the berries since moving away. Most of them were devoured as soon as they were picked, but I kept a few to bring back home with me.

Beautiful red huckleberry bushes loaded with tasty berries!

I brought back some salal berries and two different varieties of huckleberry: Red huckleberries (Vaccinium parvifolium) and Evergreen huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum). Salal berries (Gaultheria shallon) are native to western North America and plentiful in the coastal forests of Oregon. They are a lesser known, but delicious edible berry. I also brought back some blackberries, but I'll talk about them later... Today I'm sharing what I made with my huckleberries and salal berries.


Oregon Coast Berry Sauce:
1 cup wild berries (I used a mix of salal and huckleberry)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 TB honey
1 tsp water
1/2 tsp lemon juice


In a small sauce pan, add berries, sprinkle with cornstarch and stir until they are evenly coated. drizzle with honey, add water and lemon juice. Stir well. Heat berries over medium heat stirring constantly. Smash some of the berries as they cook. Simmer 2-4 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken and berries are smashed to your desired consistency (you can smash them all, or just a few. It's up to you!). Serve warm or cold on pancakes, ice cream, Greek yogurt etc. Store in the fridge for up to a week or freeze to use later. This is really simple, but really tasty! You can use whatever berries you want, so it's super versatile. I hope you enjoy it!

You guys, the Oregon coast is gorgeous! If you've never spent time there, you should! And if you want suggestions of neat places to explore, I know some; I'm happy to share! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!

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