The haskap is a delicious berry that is well adapted to mechanical harvesting, rapid freezing technologies and commercial processing. These characteristics make it an ideal choice for Québec producers and processors.
Haskap can be eaten fresh or processed into innumerable products: pastries, cereal, jams, coulis, juice, alcoholic beverages, ice cream, yoghourt, sauces, and more. The berries lend a vibrant blue-violet colour to dairy products.
Most haskap berries can be described as tasting like a mixture of black currant, blueberry and raspberry with other subtle flavours mixed in such as blackberry, nectarine, plum and rhubarb.
Whether consumed fresh or processed, the haskap has the great advantage of having very fine seeds that are imperceptible in one’s mouth. The skin is very tender and delicate, making it easy to chew.
Harvest season is usually hot and harvested haskap berries quickly perish is such conditions. It is therefore important that the berries be stored in a freezer or cold room as quickly as possible after harvesting and in the very containers in which they were harvested.
Once cooled the berries must be either frozen or processed within the week. Berries which are sent to processing plants are frozen upon reception. They are then cleaned, sorted and packaged, generally in 10 kg boxes, before being stored in freezers.