As time goes by, I’ve noticed the seasonal rounds are more and more prevalent in the Ts’msyen (Tsimshian)
June is Ha’lila̱x sima̱ḵ’ooxs – the time to harvest salmonberries
Last year, the ma̱ḵ’ooxs were difficult to find. They seem to have come in late, if at all! This year, it looks like the ma̱ḵ’ooxs are coming in late again – with many berries still green on the branches this late in June.
The salmonberry bush in our back yard is the only bush we’ve seen where the berries have ripened enough to pick them. Our back yard is south facing, and a few blocks from the ocean. Steve thinks the ma̱ḵ’ooxs are flourishing because the bush is sheltered by the houses. There is also a greenhouse effect, where the sun sets below the cloud coverage and gives the berries some extra evening sun. I’m sure the rest of the salmonberry bushes will ripen quickly if we get a day or two of sun in Lax Kxeen (Prince Rupert; Kaien Island; literal translation: place of foam – referring to Butze Rapids
Ma̱ḵ’ooxs have a juicy, mild flavour and come in a variety of shades, from bright orange to deep red. Traditionally, the berries are prepared with eulachon grease. My mom, Jennifer Sampson, says picking berries is good for grounding oneself. And I can admit first hand – I usually feel pretty good after picking a bucket of berries (or eating them right off the branch lol).
I convinced Steve to buy a 4L bucket of ice cream a few weeks ago, simply because I wanted the bucket for ma̱ḵ’ooxs picking (it was way too much ice cream for only two people lol). Now I just need to convince him to buy another one so we can have two buckets for berry picking – it’s not easy to share.
Once we picked a big enough batch, we were able to freeze the excess. Steve did grandma Millie Leask’s method for preserving.
Steve put a single layer of ma̱ḵ’ooxs on a lined cookie sheet into the freezer for about an hour or so (until they’re hard). Once the berries were individually frozen, he put them into a zip lock bag. Now we can take them out of the freezer as we need them.
Ma̱ḵ’ooxs are delicious as a snack by themselves, and on ice cream!
Another simple way to enjoy ma̱ḵ’ooxs, is by eating them plain with cream or canned milk (ts’maatk! [ts’m/*aatk] – good tasting; tasty; sweet tasting
We decided to eat fresh ma̱ḵ’ooxs for the first two (smaller) harvests we got from the back yard. We added them to our salad.
Summer Spinach Salad:
Spinach
Cucumbers
Cherry tomato’s (cut in half)
Orange peppers
Hemp hearts
PecansHomemade salmonberry vinaigrette – olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little bit of sugar or sweetener, dash of salt, and mashed up salmonberries. We also added whole salmonberries on top of our salad.
We often make a summer salmonberry punch as well. This recipe can be made with either fresh or frozen berries! The frozen berries double as ice cubes to cool your drink.
Salmonberry Punch:
2L of pop – such as ginger ale or club soda
1L of juice – I like cranberry
Cubed ice
Salmonberries.
Serve with a ladle, so you can scoop up those berries into your drink! For just Stephen and myself, we also make this right in our glasses – fill 2/3 club soda (or Soda Stream fizzy water), 1/3 low calorie juice, 1-2 ice cubes and a few fresh or frozen salmonberries.
We’ve been keeping an eye on the salmonberry bushes in town so we can go harvesting with my cousin Brittany and her kiddos. Salmonberry picking is a fun activity that you can do during COVID times, while still social distancing. However, Lax Kxeen has had a lot of wolf scares lately – so most likely we’ll have to find somewhere local (in town) to harvest more ma̱ḵ’ooxs.
T’oyaxsut nüün – thank you
Follow güüdisk on Instagram for more harvesting photos, including additional info on harvesting ma̱ḵ’ooxs!
S&L – June 18, 2020