Having lived in Alberta my entire life, I was completely unaware of the wild berries some use to make what they call “Stinky Socks Jam”. If I had heard this before foraging for the berries, I would have never gone – so, pay it no heed.

I was simply curious as I love getting delicious, nutritious local food for free. “Delicious, Nutritious and Economical” is my mantra. Having picked Saskatoon berries, raspberries, currants, and you name the rest, as a child, the Highbush Cranberry was a mystery to me. What did it look like? Why had I not seen it? What did it taste like? What do people do with them.

First, it is not really a cranberry. That is a misnomer. But, it looks like one and it is tart, so the name fit. In the middle of Edmonton, and most likely any Alberta town, city, or busy country locale, you will find these berries. The day in mid to late October last year that I went, the berries were abundant. And, I mean abundant! The warm sun and the blue sky were settling at 6 pm in the Edmonton river valley - somewhere. No forager gives out her area. Seconds later, we were breathing in the beauty this late autumn has painted for us. Crimson leaves. Golden leaves, Crunchy underfoot… and Highbush cranberries!

Why had I not been picking these all of my life? My own mother had never heard of them. I come from a long line of foraging and scavenging farmers from Central Alberta. I was elated and dumbfounded to discover an unknown edible wild berry in my midst that I was completely unaware of. And this year, the highbush cranberries, or Kylina to the Ukrainians and Pembina, to the French, were absolutely exploding with colour as the brilliant bundles of glistening morsels saturated the landscape. Actually, you can smell them before you see them, if you pay attention to your nose. The do emit a fragrant sweet little bit of delicious stench.

They are tall, but the branches are easy to maneuver which made picking them incredibly rewarding and a heck of a lot of fun. We picked and plucked about a half bucket full!

But, be forewarned! These babies are definitely not tasty as a fresh fruit. Tart would be an understatement. Yet, they are nothing like a chokecherry in dryness. There is a stinkiness to them that is sour and sweet and musty and musky. It is really very appealing in a completely unexpected, unusual, and unexplainable way!

The path was busy. We were in the river valley, remember? People were consistently walking by and calling out to us, “What are you picking?” The interest was high. The berries are clearly a secret to most. Yet, there we were, in the heart of our metropolis, foraging an abundant supply of berries that are very high in vitamin C and can be used a variety of ways. I made jelly, and syrup, and juice, and my picking buddy made wine. They do have a very big heart shaped pit in them. Kind of like the purple grapes with the huge seeds, but these berries are much smaller, and the seed is bigger so that is another off-putting aspect to some, but not to most.

We were out a little less than two hours and it was getting too dark to see. I got 15 pounds; my more experienced buddy got 21 pounds. He didn’t tip his bucket over, either. If the sun had not gone down, I am not sure how long I could have continued. I had a phenomenal time and the jelly was so delicious I make it every year!