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What does a huckleberry taste like? You are about to find out. The flavor of wild huckleberries just might be one of my favorite flavors in the entire world. For me though, there is a lot of nostalgic bias that may cloud my overall judgement. The taste of huckleberries for me isn’t just a wonderful flavor but the taste of memory. Each time I bite into a huckleberry I’m reminded of my childhood and my parents. And now that I bring my own children huckleberry picking it goes beyond that. It’s now a combination of old and new memories.
Okay, enough of my blabbing. You didn’t come hear to hear me blab on about my family, you want to know what does a huckleberry taste like. I’m going to give my best technical definition below. Just keep in mind, the description of a flavor rarely does it justice. If you really want to know what a huckleberry tastes like, you will need to experience it for yourself.
What Does A Huckleberry Taste Like?
I’m going to give a quick description below of what you can generally expect a huckleberry to taste like. Keep in mind however, there are different kinds of huckleberries that produce different flavors. Read on below to see me breakdown each one I’m most familiar with.
What does a huckleberry taste like? Generally speaking, a wild huckleberry has a sweet and tart flavor. Depending on the type of wild huckleberry you might get a little more sweet or a little more tart. The best way to experience the taste of huckleberries is to eat a mixed handful of the different kinds. You get an explosion of sweetness and tartness. It does seem like the perfect combination of the two to completely satisfy the taste pallet.
If you have ever had a blueberry, don’t expect a huckleberry to taste the same. A blueberry has more of a dull sweet taste. Everything about the huckleberries taste is more intense. It has a more intense sweetness that’s brought out by the accompanying tartness. If you get a bitter or extra tart huckleberry it’s likely due to it being a little under ripe or not ripe at all.
I hope that helps from a general sense. Huckleberries provide an intense flavor that really just needs to be experienced. Experiencing it in a pie or other dessert is wonderful, but doesn’t give you the full experience. As a matter of fact, many places that sells huckleberry flavored items primarily use blueberries. I know this because of friends and family that work in industries that make and sell “huckleberry” flavored items. They use a tiny bit of huckleberries then fill in with blueberries. This is due to the expense and rarity of huckleberries.
If you really want to experience what these wonderful little berries taste like, you just need to either pick some or buy some for yourself!
What Does A Huckleberry Taste Like? Breakdown
Lets take a little bit of time to breakdown my 3 favorite and most commonly found types of wild huckleberries. For the purpose of teaching you how huckleberries taste, I’m just going to list the huckleberries I pick and eat by color. If you want to learn more about their technical terms, you can check out the write up I did on Huckleberry vs Blueberry by clicking below.
Red Huckleberry Taste
A red huckleberry tends to be a little more on the tart side rather than the sweet side. Alone, these aren’t my favorite as I prefer a little more sweet but in combination with some of the sweeter varieties the red huckleberry is fantastic. If you found wild red huckleberries, there are likely other species very close by!
Purple Huckleberry Taste
If you find the big purple huckleberries, you’re in for a treat! They are in my opinion the best tasting right off the bush. They have a more robust sweet flavor and just a little bit of tartness. I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. Once have tried the big purple huckleberries, I think most people would agree they are the best if eaten alone.
Blue Huckleberry Taste
Blue huckleberries range from light blue to darker blue. They do tend to have a slightly more blueberry type flavor. They aren’t as intense in flavor as the red or purple but are still wonderful. The sweetness is a little more flat but does also bring some tartness that the blueberry lacks.
Black Huckleberry Taste
The black huckleberries are my least favorite when it comes to flavor. They have the least intense flavor experience. Personally, when I see black huckleberries I will pick them as they go well with all the other flavors but don’t typically eat them by themselves. They are more on the bitter/tart end and don’t have a lot of sweetness. They look beautiful in a bucket mixed with the reds purples and blues but don’t have the best flavor when eaten by themselves.
If you were ever curious about how to identify wild huckleberries, please check out the video and article I wrote below. See my family in action at one of our favorite huckleberry picking areas and I’ll show you what to look for!
Taste Of Huckleberries Video
Here is a great video of someone who was visiting Idaho and tried huckleberries for the first time. She described the flavor as a stronger blueberry. Which in many ways, is pretty accurate. I’m not sure on the freshness of the huckleberries she bought but they are always a little tastier right off the bush. See her reaction!
The Flavor Of Wild Huckleberries: Conclusion
I know I have already said this a few times, but having someone describe to you the flavor of a huckleberry will never do it justice. Until you are holding a hand full of purple, blue, black and red huckleberries and toss it in your mouth, it’s truly impossible to completely understand. Keep in mind, often times you will find all those berries in a very close proximity to each other, making the combinations of flavors very possible.
You really should find a way to experience a huckleberry festival, go out picking on your own or at the very least order some fresh huckleberries online. I will say however, they never quite taste like they do right off the bush. They are still wonderful, but not quite the same.
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I hope the next time you wonder, what does a huckleberry taste like? This will help you a out bit!
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When you say purple huckleberry do you mean Mountain huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)?
Hello Tomas, that’s correct.