Wild Blueberries & Worms

Wild blueberries

Alaska has a treasure trove of wild berries, many of which you can pick and eat.  One of the most common berries that I've seen around on Juneau trails are the blueberries.  I've seen them on trails to Crow Point, Outer Point, Point Bridget, and probably many other places.  When I first started seeing the berries I was so excited I picked a few that looked ripe, even though it was a little early in the season.  I had heard from someone though that there are worms in these blueberries.  You have to soak the blueberries in salt water overnight, and in the morning you will see the worms that have crawled out of the berries floating in the water.  I did just that, and saw a few little white worms that almost look like mini-maggots.  It was kinda disgusting.  I really wanted to have a blueberry pancake though, so I took the berries and made a pancake. Well, they weren't quite ripe enough yet and it didn't taste good.  Fail.  I decided it just wasn't worth the effort of trying to pick them at the right time and then deworming them, only to eat them with a slight fear that a worm or two might still be left in the berries.  I'm sure the worms won't stop the berry picking enthusiasts, but I went out and bought a tub of blueberries from the grocery store the next day for my pancakes. 

Pancake made with blueberries from the store - yum.