Berry Facts

Our huckleberry breakfast preserves, jellies, syrups, fillings and toppings are made in Montana (smack in downtown Hungry Horse) by actual Montanan's (God bless em). The berries themselves are also picked locally. City folk have tried for years to grow huckleberries commercially but these delicious berries have resisted all attempts to be domesticated. So hardy Montanans hike back into the dark recesses of the Bob Marshall Wilderness where they harvest these wonderful wild berries for our jams and jellies.

Picking the berries is hard work made bearable only by the occasional handful that is deposited in one's mouth rather that the berry bucket.

The huckleberry ("Vaccinium") is a sweet-tart wild berry that grows only in moist mountain areas generally above 8,000 ft. The location of these prime huckleberry bushes is a closely guarded secret. Berry pickers are a hardy lot and jealously guard their berry turfs.

In addition to their incredible taste, huckleberries have an added health benefit. For at least a thousand years, herbalists have recommended the plant's fruits and leaves for medicinal purposes, treating a variety of complaints with a strong, boiled tea made from the plant. Research reveals that huckleberries are powerful antioxidants, capable of protecting cells in the eye and other parts of the body against damage from unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals.

In case you're wondering what the difference is between jam and preserves, well, according to Google, Preserves differ from jam in that the chunks of fruit are medium to large rather than the texture of thick puree.