Saskatoon berries (Amelanchier alnifolia),

all-purpose service berry of the Canadian and American Prairies

[follow the Wikipedia links]

A few facts

• The saskatoon is usually referred to as a berry, when in fact it is a member of the pome fruit family which includes apple and pear
• saskatoons look and taste like blueberries with a thicker skin and thicker more flavorful juice
• saskatoons are popular for jams, syrups, pies, cake icings, yogurt flavorings, fruit leathers, craft wines
• plant is a shrub with height = 9 feet (3 m) or more
• berries form as clusters of 6-12, usually blue-purple, but colors of cream through red to black occur

Saskatoon, the city

• most populated city in the province of Saskatchewan, metro population = 233,923 (2004)
• called the "Bridge City" for its seven river crossings; also is called "Paris of the Prairies", for the same reason
• following release of the 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Saskatoon became known as "'Toontown", after a similarly named location in the film, although the nickname "'Toontown" had been in use in Saskatoon prior to the film's release
• another less commonly used nickname is "POW City". POW stands for Potash, Oil, and Wheat -- major commodities of Saskatchewan

Nutritional and antioxidant qualities

Nutrients -- saskatoons are high in dietary fiber and the essential minerals --calcium, iron and manganese

What research says

click for the abstract!

• saskatoon and wild blueberries have higher anthocyanin contents than other Manitoba berries

• saskatoon seed oils contain high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids
• saskatoon anthocyanins inhibit cyclo-oxygenase (pro-inflammatory) enzymes

Reading

• Mazza G and CG Davidson, Saskatoon berry: A fruit crop for the Prairies