the huckleberry, an excerpt from whole foods companion

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revised and expanded edition DIANNE ONSTAD a guide for adventurous cooks, curious shoppers, and lovers of natural foods WHOLE FOODS C O M P A N I O N

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Page 1: The Huckleberry, An Excerpt from Whole Foods Companion

r e v i s e d a n d e x p a n d e d e d i t i o n

“The time is ripe to celebrate food for the central role it plays in our lives. . . . Discover the relationship between the foods we eat, the health of our bodies, and the clarity of our minds.”

—from the Introduction

Whole Foods Companion is the essential resource for today’s health-conscious cooks and loversof natural foods everywhere. Providing a wealth of information on natural and whole foods fromapricot to zucchini, this book includes the latest nutritional facts along with useful buying tips, fascinating lore and legends, and traditional uses for hundreds of foods in six categories:

Fruits • Vegetables • Grains • Legumes • Nuts, Seeds, and Oils • Herbs, Spices, and Other Foods

Expand your knowledge of whole foods and make informed, inspired food choices with this updated edition of Whole Foods Companion.

Dianne Onstad is actively involved in nutrition education and the promotion of organic wholefoods, with a special interest in living and raw foods.

“Wonderful . . . Whole Foods Companion is a valuable resource. It does make a difference what youeat, and this book describes in detail the range of nourishing organic foods available to all of us.”

—Alice Waters, founder and owner, Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café

“An interesting blend of botanical, culinary, and folk information.”—Library Journal

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Food/Nutrition/Reference $35.00 USD

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a guide for adventurous cooks, curious shoppers, and lovers of natural foods

WHOLEFOODSC O M P A N I O N

Chelsea Green PublishingWhite River Junction, Vermont802-295-6300 • www.chelseagreen.com

Cover illustration by Robin WimbiscusCover design by Peter Holm, Sterling Hill Productions

Page 2: The Huckleberry, An Excerpt from Whole Foods Companion

F R U I T S

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Health Benefits pH 3.70–4.00. The guava is beneficial for the skeletal andlymphatic systems. It is known for its astringent and laxa-tive properties.

Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata)Also Known As: Bilberry, Whortleberry, Hurtleberry

The botanical name Gaylussacia was given in honor ofJoseph L. Gay-Lussac, a French chemist and physicist;baccata means “berry-producing.” The English namehuckleberry is believed a corruption of hurtleberry.

General InformationHuckleberries, a member of the heath family, are believedto have been used for human consumption since prehis-toric times, even perhaps twenty-five to thirty centuriesbefore Christ; this plant is reputedly one of the oldestliving plants on earth. A single plant found in westernPennsylvania covers several square miles and is estimatedby botanists to be over thirteen thousand years old (olderthan the oldest California redwood); it is one of the last

surviving examples of the box huckleberry. Although thehuckleberry resembles the blueberry and the two plantsgrow in the same regions, they are not actually related. Thedark blue to black fruit of the true huckleberry is distin-guished by the ten bony nutlets (or seeds), while the seedsof blueberries are so small as to be scarcely noticeable. Thered “huckleberry” of the Pacific Coast is more likely the redwhortleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), related to bothcranberries and blueberries. All huckleberries are edible,but some species are not very tasty. The garden huckle-berry, which was developed by Luther Burbank, is closelyrelated to the tomato.

Buying Tips Look for bright, clean berries with good uniform color.Check the bottom of the container to make sure it has notbeen stained from mushy or moldy fruit.

Culinary Uses This round, shiny fruit is sweet and pleasantly flavored butmore “seedy” than blueberries. Huckleberries are mostoften used in the preparation of sweets, preserves, and con-fectionery (they make an excellent pie) and can be usedinterchangeably with blueberries in many recipes.

Health Benefits pH 3.38–3.43 (cooked). Eating fresh huckleberries hasbeen observed to regulate bowel action, stimulate appetite,end intestinal putrefaction, and expel ascarids. The freshberries may require some individual experimentation,

Because huckleberries grew wild everywhere incold-weather climates, they readily became asso-ciated by the 1700s with anything rural, tranquil,untouched. From there it was hardly a stretch totransform the meaning in the 1800s to “simple,”“small,” or “insignificant.” Mark Twain used theword huckleberry in that sense in A ConnecticutYankee in King Arthur’s Court, referring to somesharpie as “no huckleberry.” His HuckleberryFinn, of course, represented the simple joys ofbucolic childhood.

L O R E A N D L E G E N D

Whole Foods Final Pages 12/20/04 2:58 PM Page 64

Page 3: The Huckleberry, An Excerpt from Whole Foods Companion

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F R U I T S

since they tend to produce diarrhea in some people whilestopping it in others. Huckleberries are especially helpfulin aiding the pancreas in digesting sugars and starches;they have the advantage of passing through the stomachwithout affecting it, then beginning to work in the smallintestine. The dried berries have been found to be valuablein cases of edema. They are low in fat and high in fiber,potassium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, vitamin Bcomplex, and vitamin C.

Ilama(Annona diversifolia)

Annona means “year’s harvest” and is suggested by theHaitian name anon, which is applied to one of the species;diversifolia means “having leaves of two or more forms.”The name ilama is derived, via Spanish, from the nativeMexican name illamatzapotl (which translates as zapote delas viejas, or “old woman’s sapote”).

General Information

Culinary Uses In green varieties, the flesh is white and sweet. Pink vari-eties usually have pink-tinged flesh near the rind andaround the seeds and are somewhat tarter in flavor. Theflesh of both is somewhat fibrous but smooth and custardy,with a quantity of hard, smooth, inedible seeds. Alwaysconsumed raw, the flesh is served either in the half shell orscooped out, chilled, and served with cream and sugar tointensify the flavor.

Jaboticaba(Myrciaria cauliflora)

The genus name Myrciaria is probably related to Myrtus,the myrtle family. Cauliflora refers to the fact that the treedevelops flowers (flora) directly on the stem (caulis). Theword jaboticaba is said to have been derived from the Tupiterm jabotim, for “turtle,” and means “like turtle fat,” pre-sumably referring to the fruit pulp.

General Information Native to and widely cultivated in the region of Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, this tree bears its fruits directly on its trunk,main limbs, and branches. The trees were introduced intoCalifornia at Santa Barbara about 1904; a few were stillliving in 1912, but by 1939 all had died. Those introducedinto Florida have done much better, and some still growthere today. The fruits are round and about one inch indiameter, bright green to maroon or purple in color, andnot unlike a grape but with a thicker skin.

Culinary Uses

Whole Foods Final Pages 12/20/04 2:58 PM Page 65