Bakeapples are a relative of raspberries, but found low to the ground on slow-growing plants in isolated locales across Canada, primarily in northern regions. Partridgeberries are a relative of the cranberry, found on low-growing evergreen shrubs in similar habitats.
Neither berry has been successfully cultivated, so harvesting and selling these wild fruits gives residents of some northern communities a pleasant source of income each year.
The community of Forteau is nestled on the southeastern coast of Labrador, about 13 km from the Quebec/Labrador border. One of several small communities strung along the Strait of Belle Isle, it's home to Pure Labrador Wild Berries, a family-based business that makes fruit spreads and syrups using bakeapples, partridgeberries and blueberries.
The business started 12 years ago during the annual Bakeapple Festival held in the neighbouring community of L'Anse au Loup on the second weekend of August. (This year's festival takes place on August 9-12.) The idea for the company began as a simple request, says Bradley Hancock, general manager of Pure Labrador. The local Lions Club wanted some products made featuring bakeapples for a meal they were hosting during the festival.
The desserts went over so well that Stelman Flynn, local entrepreneur and founder of Pure Labrador, thought that a cottage industry would do well in the community, and Labrador Preserves Company was born. Initially, Stelman marketed the preserves only through two local grocery stores and in dessert crepes at the local restaurant he owned-but as word got out about the preserves, their popularity and demand grew.
Bradley Hancock joined the company eight years ago (in 1999) and began actively marketing the preserves outside the local area. The brand name was changed to "Pure Labrador Wild Berries," suggestive of the pristine natural environment in which the berries grow. Today 95 per cent of the products are sold wholesale outside of Labrador. You can find Pure Labrador preserves in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Alberta, and in Rhode Island and Detroit, Michigan.
While many Atlantic Canadians are certainly familiar with the names bakeapple and partridgeberry, Pure Labrador decided it would be wiser to use the names cloudberry and lingonberry in their packaging and marketing.
"Both kinds of berries are common in Scandinavian countries, and there are companies in Sweden and Finland doing big business internationally marketing products using the names cloudberries and lingonberries," says Bradley. "So we opted to go with the international names for a broader marketing development."
The company flash-freezes its supply of berries at harvest season each year. Between 25,000 and 30,000 pounds of berries is adequate to keep production going year-round. Bradley buys his berries from as many as 100 local residents who scour the bogs and moors of the coast each summer and fall, seeking out the berries.
"When a family finds a good picking spot, they tend to keep it a secret so no one else picks there," he says.
The bakeapple season generally runs for three weeks, from mid-August until early September, while the partridgeberry season doesn't begin until September and can run until snow covers the berries. Bradley points out that some people even pick the berries in the spring, after the snow melts, for use at home, because the normally tart berries are a little sweeter after being frozen.
Initially the company was offering a mail-order service, but the nature of their products and the location of their business meant the cost of shipping was a serious challenge.
"When you've got products in glass jars or bottles, they have to be packed just so, and we found that the packaging, the cost of getting the orders out of here and to the mainland just were too high," Bradley explains. "So instead we put a lot of effort into finding distributors who could get the products out to consumers on a fairly wide basis."
Which is more popular, the products using bakeapples or those made of partridgeberries? Bradley says overall, the split is about even, although different markets will prefer one over the other.
"Anyone with a Newfoundland connection generally prefers the bakeapple, because it's sort of our provincial berry…."
He admits, however, that bakeapples are an acquired taste. People are generally more familiar with partridgeberries outside of Newfoundland and Labrador because of their popularity in Scandinavia.
The Scandinavian influence has also meant a departure in the traditional use of bakeapples and partridgeberries in cooking. Newfoundlanders (and those mainlanders with discerning tastes for such treats) traditionally-made jams or jellies with the berries for enjoying with bread or toast; however, recipes using the spreads and syrups in main course dishes, in salad dressings and marinades and in a wide range of desserts are finding favour.
"If you've never had salmon with bakeapple or venison with partridgeberry… well, you're missing a treat!" says Bradley.