Henkimaa

Crowberry: another indigenous Alaskan (i.e., North American) species. This one isn't yet ripe.

Much though I appreciate the Glycemic Index Newsletter, & all the GI people behind it, I wish they would be a little less lax about their inaccuracy about how many species of berry are native to the North American continent, which I reported a few days ago.

They say there are only three berries native to the U.S.: wild blueberry, cranberry, & Concord grape. And of course the only wild blueberries they recognized were the ones that grow in the northeast U.S. and eastern Canada. Never mind the blueberries that grow in the alpine tundra of such places as, say, the Chugach Mountains of Alaska just outside Anchorage, where I live.

I wrote them a comment about this inaccuracy, & someone else suggested that the GI Group test the GI of the “new” berries I mentioned.

To which I replied:

Well, I wouldn’t expect them to GI test every berry native to North America. The point I want to make is simply that their statement that Wild blueberries are one of three berries native to North America – the others are cranberry and Concord grapes. is wildly inaccurate — there are many more indigenous species of plants with berries, including edible berries, than that.

I will mention also that there is a wild blueberry which grows in alpine tundra in the Chugach Mountains right here in Alaska that is probably different than the blueberry species mentioned in the article. Given that these blueberries have that same blue pigment, & so do Montana huckleberries (& no doubt other species of huckleberries native to other parts of North America), and so do crowberries, they are also probably really beneficial.

Which is good, because we like to go up into the mountains in the fall & pick them.

A couple of days passed, & finally the GI Group answered:

Thanks for all the information on berries — we will try and make use of it in our next berry story. We really appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge and post your comments.

This is nice, I suppose… but in the story itself, they are permitting the inaccuracy to stand.

Or might they run a correction in their May issue? Here’s hoping.

A night shot of highbush cranberry -- an indigenous Alaskan (i.e., North American) species.

I finally got around to reading the April issue of the Glycemic Index Newsletter.

But I was pretty astounded to read, in an otherwise excellent article about how wonderful blueberries are (yes they are!), the following statement:

Wild blueberries are one of three berries native to North America – the others are cranberry and Concord grapes.

Huh? You really believe there are only three berries native to the whole North American continent?

I commented:

Excuse me, but there are lots more berries native to North America than just the three you name. I grew up picking wild huckleberries in Montana with my family (Vaccinium globulare and Vaccinium membranaceum), and in Alaska where I live now there are numerous berry species that aren’t mentioned here — highbush cranberry, lowbush cranberry, watermelon berry (AKA twisted stalk), salmonberry, timberberry, crowberry… to name but a few. All of these are edible.

(Note that lowbush cranberry & highbush cranberry are not the same species as those growing in the eastern U.S., or that are popularly associated with the cranberry sauce eaten with U.S. Thanksgiving dinner.)

Come to think of it, the species of blueberry which grows in the alpine tundra in the Chugach Mountains is probably also different from the species mentioned in the article.

And probably have a lot of the same benefits. I bet my childhood huckleberries do too.