When we headed to Montana, specifically into northern Montana, near Glacier National Park, in the month of August, I knew exactly what we were going to be trying for our state food tour!

HUCKLEBERRIES!

Why huckleberries? There are huckleberry flavored everything in that part of the country, and it was their picking season! I wanted to try them and knew the kids would love them as well. We found out a few cool facts about huckleberries in the process!

• Huckleberries are the only fruit that can’t be found growing on a farm. They are only harvested from wild bushes!
• Huckleberries can’t be transplanted easily, which is why they are unable to be cultivated for farming. It is the way they grow!
• Their bushes look a lot like blueberries!
• They are a favorite of bears, and bears are often seen munching on the berries on the mountainsides!

“I’m your huckleberry.”

-Doc Holliday

STEP ONE – Try It:

First step was to try it! And boy did we try a lot of different things! As I mentioned before, huckleberry is everywhere up near Glacier National Park, and you can find it used in tons of different snacks and treats! Here are some of the different things we tried, and where we found them. I truly recommend that you try any if you are in the area!

• Huckleberry Fudge (The Huckleberry Patch, Hungry Horse, MT): The huckleberry fudge was a perfect little treat for all of us to try! The Huckleberry Patch has tons of different treats made with huckleberry.
• Huckleberry Preserves (The Huckleberry Patch, Hungry Horse, MT): The huckleberry preserves were amazing! We also had jam from another store, but fell in love with the preserves from the Huckleberry Patch. I wish I had bought more than one jar!
• Huckleberry Ice Cream (Sweet Peaks Ice Cream, Whitefish, MT): We actually ate this ice cream in St Mary on East Glacier at a small ice cream shop, but felt I should credit the store who actually made it. The huckleberry ice cream was nothing short of amazing! We all enjoyed a scoop after hiking to Grinnell Glacier (an eleven mile hike)!
• Huckleberry Bear Claws (Polebridge Mercantile, Polebridge, MT): If I could only choose one thing to serve you as a huckleberry treat, this would be it. Located in incredibly remote Polebridge, MT, the northwestern corner of the park, is the Polebridge Mercantile. The mercantile has a small variety of essential items… and a small bakery. These bear claws were made fresh daily and used fresh huckleberries. They were absolutely delicious!
• Red Jammer Huckleberry Cream Soda (Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Many Glacier, MT): We found this one evening while exploring Many Glacier in the park. I am sure it can be found elsewhere, at least in the lodges. The kids loved this little treat!

Mommy and daddy also sampled a couple varieties of huckleberry alcoholic beverages! Here are a few of our favorites!

• Huckleberry Honey (Bitter Root Brewing, Hamilton, MT)
• Huckleberry Spiced Seltzer (Big Sky Brewing, Missoula, MT)
• Halo Huckleberry Hefe (Lewis & Clark Brewing, Helena, MT)

STEP TWO – Make It:

I initially wanted to have the kid pick huckleberries, but I have to admit, I did not know exactly what the berries or the bushes looked like. I knew they great up in the mountains, but I didn’t want to bring home something that could be upsetting to the stomach and pretend that it was hucklberries!

Luckily, upon driving into the park from Kalispell, we found a small roadside stand just outside of Hungry Horse, MT that sold fresh huckleberries! They weren’t cheap though! Apparently, it has been a tough year for the crop, due to some late season snowfall. It was $10 for half a pint!

Due to the small amount that we purchased, I knew we’d be unable to make a pie, which was my initial thought. We decided to make the next best thing… PANCAKES!

Levi mixed up some of our Kodiak cakes and added the fresh huckleberries into the batter. Topping them with butter and fresh maple syrup – they were simply delicious!

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