Recipe for haskap berries from Nova Scotia

Stuart Forster introduces a recipe featuring grilled aubergine, mozzarella cheese and haskap berries from Nova Scotia, Canada.

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One of the key reasons I love travel is it provides opportunities to explore the flavours of a place. That encompasses eating in restaurants, trying local snacks and looking out for products I don’t see in shops and markets back at home.

Recently, while driving towards the historic coastal town of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia, Canada, my guide, Pam, pointed out a field with neatly arranged rows of bushes, about waist high. “Over there is a farm growing haskap berries,” she uttered.

“Has-what berries?” was my response. I have to admit, I’d never previously heard of haskap berries.

Haskap berry benefits

Pam explained that haskap berries originate from Siberia and thrived on Japan’s northerly Hokkaido island, the location of the world’s first commercial haskap farming. Farmers in Canada realised the climate and terroir of parts of Nova Scotia are also well suited to growing haskap. The berry is still being cultivated on a relatively small scale but, apparently, there’s excitement that things could be set to take off.

Some people believe the berries will prove ‘the next big thing’ in terms of healthy eating. At the 2013 World Juice Awards haskap was named ‘Best New Juice’. Articles published by Runners World magazine and The Independent highlight research undertaken at Northumbria University that suggests consuming haskap juice can enhance the distance runners’ performances by two per cent.

Haskap is regarded as a super-fruit due to the fruit’s high levels of antioxidants. The berries – which are blue and grow to around an inch long – contain high levels of vitamin C, phenolic compounds and anthocyanins.

Haskapa Haskap Berry Power is available via Amazon:

 

Fresh haskap berries grown in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Fresh haskap berries grown in Nova Scotia, Canada



Haskap berry juice

A life-size cut-out of Jamie Oliver greeted us at the Sobeys supermarket we popped in with the intention of purchasing a bottle of haskap berry juice. The British chef has a partnership with the Canadian supermarket chain, to promote eating healthily.

I couldn’t help glancing up at banners bearing his image, hanging from the ceiling, as we sought out the supermarket’s Taste of Nova Scotia stand, showcasing products from the province.

Rather than buying just a bottle of the juice, I eventually picked up a box entitled the Haskap experience, holding a 150-millilitre bottle of juice, two ounces of jam and 50 grams of dried berries. The packaging showed the measurements just as I’ve written them here – a mixture of metric and imperial.

The juice and dried berries are dark blue in colour. I found their flavour pleasantly tangy. It made me think of a combination of blueberries, blackberries and cranberries.

Would I seek out the juice again? Yes. I look forward to seeing it on shelves of stores in the United Kingdom.

Haskap berries on grilled aubergine (eggplant) with mozzarella cheese.
Haskap berries on grilled aubergine (eggplant) with mozzarella cheese.



Haskap recipe

Grilled aubergine with haskap berries and mozzarella

I came up with the following recipe for using haskap berries. It may be slightly unusual to use fruit in what is essentially a savoury dish, but the combination proved delicious.

Ingredients

1 aubergine (alternatively known as eggplant)

Mozzarella cheese (150 grams)

Haskap berries (30 grams)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to season

Method

  1. Cut the aubergine into slices up to 1cm thick.
  2. Brush olive oil onto the aubergine. Work quickly to avoid it soaking into the aubergine’s flesh.
  3. Place the aubergine slices with the oiled side up under a hot grill and cook until golden (c. 4 minutes).
  4. Turn the aubergine slices and grill for a couple of minutes.
  5. Season the aubergine with salt and pepper.
  6. Add chopped slices of mozzarella. Top with haskap berries. Replace under the grill until the cheese has melted.
  7. Serve while warm, either alone or with an accompanying salad.
Haskap berry recipe with aubergine (eggplant) and mozzarella cheese.
Haskap berry recipe with aubergine (eggplant) and mozzarella cheese

Purchase the Haskapa Gift Box via Amazon:

Haskap berries served on aubergine (eggplant).
Haskap berries served on aubergine (eggplant).

Travel to Nova Scotia

Stuart flew from Gatwick Airport to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with Icelandair. The journey included a stop at the airline’s hub at Keflavik Airport, approximately an hour’s bus ride from Reykjavík.

Air Canada operates direct flights between London Heathrow and Halifax Stanfield International Airport. WestJet flies between London Gatwick and Halifax via Toronto.



Map of Nova Scotia

The Annapolis Valley is the principal fruit-producing region on Nova Scotia. Zoom out of this map to see more of the region and the province as a whole:

Google Map showing part of the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, Canada.
 

Hotels in Nova Scotia

Find and book accommodation in Halifax and elsewhere in Nova Scotia via HRS:



Further information

Find out more about haskap berries and products via the Haskapa website and in this review of haskapa berry powder.

Discover more about the province in which the berries are being produced via the Tourism Nova Scotia homepage.  For more information about the country as a whole, see the Destination Canada website.

Stuart Forster, the author of this post, is a frequent visitor to Canada. He has written about Canada for Wanderlust, The Mail on Sunday and Selling Travel.

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A version of this post was initially published on Go Eat Do on 10 August 2015.

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4 Comments

  • Liam Tayler

    August 10, 2015 at 15:39 Reply

    Great article,.. a real shame you missed our ‘haskapa’ retail and Information store which we just opened in Mahone Bay! We have some spectacular haskap ice-cream I am sure you would have loved!

    Yours

    Liam

    • Stuart

      August 19, 2015 at 10:41 Reply

      I would have loved to have seen that and definitely would have been up for trying your ice cream. There are many reasons why I’d love to return to Nova Scotia, so I’ll add this to the list!

  • Flick

    August 14, 2015 at 21:13 Reply

    I have never heard of these berries before. They sound so intriguing, did you get to try any of the fresh berries while you were out there?

    • Stuart

      August 19, 2015 at 10:40 Reply

      No, I looked for them but didn’t see fresh ones, unfortunately.

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