{"id":781147,"date":"2026-07-05T04:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/781147\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T04:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:59:27","slug":"ontario-grown-haskap-berry-packs-a-flavourful-punch-in-jams-muffins-and-drinks-jasmine-mangalaseril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/781147\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario-grown haskap berry packs a flavourful punch in jams, muffins and drinks: Jasmine Mangalaseril"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ontario summers are famous for locally grown strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and even gooseberries.<\/p>\n

But have you heard of the haskap berry?<\/p>\n

The haskap berry, more at home in peaty soils of boreal forests across much of Canada (as well as parts of Europe and Asia), is finding fans here in southwestern Ontario.<\/p>\n

Amy and Channing Strom, owners of Guelph\u2019s Strom\u2019s Farm and Bakery, are part of a handful of growers in this part of the province growing haskaps. They started growing the berry in 2014 for their bakery.<\/p>\n

“We just thought it was an interesting taste,” Amy Strom said. “It\u2019s very high in antioxidants, what they call a super fruit.”<\/p>\n

\"manChanning Strom harvesting haskap berries on his farm in Guelph, Ont. (Jasmine Mangalaseril\/CBC)High in vitamins, fibre, polyphenols<\/p>\n

The indigo-coloured fruit generally looks like a three centimetre-long torpedo-shaped blueberry. Squash one and magenta juice flows. Many think it tastes like blueberry and raspberry (personally, I taste blueberry, green grape and green tea leaf).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Haskap Canada Association based in Quebec says haskap berries are jam-packed with anthocyanins, polyphenols, vitamins, fibre and potassium. The association says each of those compounds have different types of health benefits.<\/p>\n

While they resemble blueberries, they are part of the honeysuckle family: in some areas they are called honeyberries or blue honeysuckle. <\/p>\n

Here in Canada, they\u2019re called haskaps, a name derived from\u00a0hasukappu meaning “little presents on the end of branches” in the Indigenous Ainu language of Japan.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Anti-oxidants from blueberry and haskap berry waste:\"\"<\/p>\n

Berry extracts as health supplements?<\/p>\n

Dan Pike is working with New Brunswick’s french Community College campus in Grand Falls to isolate anti-oxidants from blueberry and haskap berry waste.How are they grown?<\/p>\n

The Stroms picked six different early-season varieties and planted roughly 500 bushes on a quarter-hectare patch.<\/p>\n

Bumblebees sourced through the University of Guelph\u2019s Bee Research Centre pollinate the bushes in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cedar waxwings appear a few weeks before harvest, signalling time to cover the patch in netting to keep the crop from winged raiders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Stroms harvest the berries by hand and freeze them immediately because otherwise, they turn to mush quickly.<\/p>\n

\"harvestingChanning Strom (left) harvesting haskap berries at his family farm in Guelph, Ont. with his friend Mike Boden (right). (Strom’s Farm & Bakery)Finding them fresh, frozen, and more<\/p>\n

Guelph cookbook author Emily Richards said the berries\u2019 short harvest season \u2014 a couple of weeks or so \u2014 adds to their allure.<\/p>\n

“I kept going back to the market because I was like, ‘I need this’ and then they’re gone \u2026 I think that’s kind of the uniqueness, that mysterious part of a haskap because they don’t have that long season,” said Richards.<\/p>\n

\"berriesHaskaps growing at the Strom family farm in Guelph, Ont. (Jasmine Mangalaseril\/CBC)<\/p>\n

While fresh haskaps can be hard to find, producers often have products like preserves and drinks available.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the Strom\u2019s Market opens in September, haskaps are featured in\u00a0pies, butter tarts, and marshmallows, as well as jams and vinaigrettes. Tubs of frozen berries will also be available.<\/p>\n

Haskap festival in September<\/p>\n

Richards has been creating haskap recipes using frozen berries, jams and vinaigrettes. She\u2019ll be demonstrating the dishes at the Stroms\u2019 annual haskap festival in September.<\/p>\n

“Being able to use frozen products is a great substitute [for fresh] but having the jam and the vinaigrette really helps showcase the flavour in a different way and it’s also more accessible throughout the year,” said Richards<\/p>\n

\"haskapHaskap berries are grown by a handful of farmers in Ontario. One of the growers is in Guelph, Ont. (Jasmine Mangalaseril\/CBC)<\/p>\n

She said if you are new to haskaps, start with sweet recipes and substitute them for blueberries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Smoothies, muffins, cakes, anything like that. Jams, jellies \u2026 I think that’s a great introduction for haskaps, especially for those that have not experienced the flavour on their own,” said Richards.<\/p>\n

“The next step is playing around or getting creative, jumping into the savoury side.”<\/p>\n

On the savoury side, haskaps can be used in relishes and sauces for smoked meats, in oven roasted vegetable tray bakes, or even as contrast to rich, creamy cheeses.<\/p>\n

“There’s that complexity \u2026 when you incorporate a little bit of salt or heat and it really works well in the savoury element,” said Richards.<\/p>\n

Haskap liqueur adds ‘summer flavour’<\/p>\n

John Sleeman and Sons\u2019 Spring Mill Distillery has producing haskap liqueur for about six years, using the Stroms\u2019 berries. The distillery creates one run of the jammy liqueur every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spring Mill\u2019s Ward Bar created several cocktails with it, including a cosmopolitan, a negroni and a gin mojito. They will also be demonstrating their cocktails at the September festival.<\/p>\n

\"bottlesSpring Mill\u2019s Ward Bar created a several cocktails with haskap berries, including a cosmopolitan, a negroni, and a gin mojito. (Spring Mill\u2019s Ward Bar)<\/p>\n

“It’s just this berry essence. It’s very bright, a little bit floral, almost. It\u2019s quite an interesting flavour,” said Christine Cipolla, Spring Mill’s marketing co-ordinator.<\/p>\n

“Really nice by itself. Really nice mixed with other things. It just adds this summer flavour to anything you put with it.”<\/p>\n

Recipe: Haskap gin mojitoAdd 1 oz gin to shaker.Add 0.5 oz haskap berry liqueur.Spank and add 5-6 mint leaves.Add 1 oz lime juice.Add 0.5 oz Canadian maple syrup.Add 1 lime wedge and muddle.<\/p>\n

Add four ice cubes to a glass and strain the drink into the glass. Top it up with soda and garnish with bouquet of mint leaves and lime wedge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ontario summers are famous for locally grown strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and even gooseberries. But have you heard of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-781147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}