In Seattle at this very moment, you can get some utterly amazing berries. This week for instance, I saw the emergence of blueberries, raspberries and these beauties (above) red currents. For those of you who haven't experienced these they are really quite tart, and the seeds are quite large. They kinda remind me of pomegranate seeds, as they are lovely and juicy. Last year I made Bar-le-duc out of red currents but I found the seeds pretty overwhelming. So this year, rather then make a confiture, I decided to treat them like pomegranate seeds and add them to greens.
As for strawberries (which have been around since the beginning of the month) I'm not sure people realize how many varieties are really out there. I have seen (and tasted) Shuksons (AMAZING - buy if you see these guys!), Totem, Puget and Albion. They all vary in size, consistency and taste (especially in intensity of flavor and amount of tartness). My favorites (so far - although I am waiting for the Hood variety) is the Shukson variety (as if you couldn't tell from my exclamation point above!). They were sweet, incredibly flavorsome and a good size. I made a strawberry and rhubarb jam from them, and they were so flavorsome and sweet that they completely neutralized the tartness of the rhubarb. However, the flavor is so good that I really didn't mind.
If you're in the state of WA - specifically the Western part, seriously get out there and get some berries because they are just magnificent at the moment. Thank you farmers - you are loved!
