Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association: Saskatoon Berries

You will find Alberta saskatoon berry growers by clicking a region above. Each link will provide an access to alphabetical listings of farms by town in each region.

Credit Card? Cash?
Check method of payment with grower in advance, as not all farms accept electronic payment.

Saskatoon Availability: Each month brings the availability of a different fruit or vegetable. Remember, it varies on location, varieties planted, and weather conditions, so always call the farm before the earliest date below so you don't miss the season!

Saskatoon Season: July and August

Saskatoon Berry Baking Tips

Use almond extract in recipes to bring out the nutty saskatoon flavour.

Do not thaw berries before using. Wash in the frozen state and then proceed with the recipe.

Never boil saskatoons with sugar. Saskatoon skin will become hard and tough. Add the “boiled without sugar” berries at the end of the recipe.

Add something acidic to your recipes to bring out the saskatoon flavour, e.g., lemon juice or rind, rhubarb, sour cherries, etc.

The Saskatoon Berry

Saskatoons (Amelanchier Alnifolia) are purplish-blue berries grown on a shrub-type bush. They are native to the Canadian prairies and southern portions of the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

The berry’s name is derived from the Cree word Mis-sask-quah-toomina. A member of the original surveying party for the town site of Saskatoon, reported that the First Nations people used to gather quantities of the berries. They walked through camps calling, what sounded like to member of the scouting party, “saskatoons, saskatoons.”

The Native people and early pioneers used saskatoons as a common food. The fruit is still popular today and is used in baking, jams, jellies and wines.

Early settlers recognized the potential to diversify their diets with this delicious fibre-rich berry. It provided a relatively good source of calcium, potassium, copper and carotene and an excellent source of manganese, matgnesium and iron (see below). It was an important food source during the depression in the 1930’s.

Saskatoon Nutrition Information:

Saskatoons will supply you with important nutrients as well as a tasty treat. A 100 gram serving of saskatoons will supply:

22.3% of recommended daily iron requirement
88 mg or 11% of daily calcium requirement
20% of daily requirement of carotene
16 mg of Vitamin C
244 mg of potassium or 10% of daily need
2.5% of daily requirement of zinc and 33.8 % of manganese
32 mg of phosphorus or 1.1% of the daily requirement for adults

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