Sunday, February 10, 2008

Huckleberries

Until today, my experience with the word, Huckleberry, was limited to a blue dog that sang Oh My Darling Valentine when I was a child.
Imagine my surprise as I walked through the snow-covered town of McCall, Idaho this morning to find a store selling huckleberry syrup, huckleberry honey and huckleberry-flavored popcorn. Next door a candy store was selling huckleberry ice cream and chocolate-covered huckleberries.
So of course I bought a scoop of ice cream and wow was it good. Imagine the taste of fresh blueberries, but without any sourness. Even though I had never had one before, I immediately associated the huckleberry's aroma with childhood - a soft, warm, fuzzy smell.
When I asked the saleswoman if they were grown wild or farmed, she said a past time in Idaho is to go up into the surrounding mountains and pick huckleberries. When you find a good patch, you keep it a secret as long as possible.
I'm sure glad I found this treat before my vacation was over.
I wonder if they make huckleberry wafffles?

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