Saskatchewan Havtorn

‘Havtorn’ is the Swedish word for ‘Sea buckthorn‘ and has almost the same meaning: “Sea thorn”. I was really surprised at the Farmers Market last year to find out that it grows in Saskatchewan, despite being no where near the sea. I suppose something about the windswept prairie appeals to them. The Farmers’ Market ones grow up North, and I didn’t expect to see any around town… but Saturday coming home from shopping I spied something golden out the corner of my eye – massive Seabuckthorn TREES with LOTS of berries. They were even more loaded down than LT’s bushes. In about an hour I picked about 4 litres, although not without some sacrifice… the berries do not come off the bush easily, and the ‘thorn’ in the name is for realz. You know when you get lemon juice on a tiny cut it magnifies the sting? Well, I got a lot of scrapes and pokes, and also burst a lot of berries which dripped all gown my arms and all over my shirt. It was very uneven ground and kind of dusty, so I got very dirty and sticky on top of the scratches. Sea buckthorn has more Vitamin C than almost anything else,as well as carotinoids, vitamin E, and minerals. They also taste fantastic, and I can’t wait to have some havtorn ice cream this Fall!