Hackberries Dried

Wild American Hackberry 1/4 Pound fresh, as harvested
Celtis occidentalis
Wild harvested here in middle TN, the tree’s pea-sized berries are edible, ripening in early September. Unlike most fruits, the berries are remarkably high in calories from fat, carbohydrate, and protein, and these calories are easily digestible without cooking or preparation. Think “nut” rather than berry, while the skin of this incredible edible is very sweet, the nutty aspect of the pit takes over most attempts to use this as a berry. Known and tried ideas for this include nut milk, crunchy hackberry candy bars, and roasted ground used in fessenjoon rather than the somewhat bitter roasted walnuts….

Omaha Natives ate the berries casually, while the Dakota used them as a flavor for meat, pounding them fine, seeds and all. The Pawnee also pounded the berries fine, added a little fat, and mixed them with parched corn.