On the Road with Maya: Salal: An Underappreciated Berry

Sunset on Cape Lookout State Park beach

Few things taste as wonderful as wild, fresh-picked berries. Finding a berry patch full of ripe, juicy berries and then eating them right on the spot is one of summer’s delights. Most of us have sampled blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries, raspberries and maybe even salmonberries or thimbleberries. But until I came to Oregon I had never tasted a salal berry.

Ripe salal berries

To say that salal is common along the Oregon coast would be an understatement. Salal often dominates the forest understory creeping along forming a dense groundcover but it can also form impenetrable shrub thickets sometimes four feet tall or taller. It tolerates shade well and can spread by layering, suckering and sprouting, so salal is ideally adapted for the coastal areas and lowland forests of Oregon and Washington.

Salal thickets line the trail in many places on the Oregon coast

Salal berries resemble blueberries only they are a little larger and more oval shaped. The skin is a bit thicker and to me they taste like a mix between a blueberry and a plum. I don’t know why you don’t see salal berries in stores. Maybe the tougher skin makes them less commercial but when picked at peak ripeness salal berries are very sweet and wonderful. And along the coast, there is no shortage of them.

Salal bush with ripe berries and new blooms

Berries in various states of ripeness

Native Americans appreciated the salal berry. Salal was an important part of their diet. They ate the berries fresh in season but also dried them and made them into huge cakes sometimes weighing as much as 15 pounds! Pieces of the cakes were cut off and dipped in whale fat or fish oil to eat.

Perfectly ripe berries

This summer the salal thickets are loaded with berries and Maya and I have been reaping the bounty. Last year in Maine, Maya learned to pick her own blueberries and this year it took her about 2 minutes to figure out she could help herself to salal berries just as easily. Since salal is so profuse along the trails we are constantly calling Maya to keep up with us on our hikes. She often finds a berry-laden bush and just stops and chows down. So far she hasn’t made herself sick and blue poop is the only side effect. (Photo not included.)

Maya grazing...

Maya's favorite way to eat salal berries

As you may have guessed, we are back on the coast after our adventures in the Sisters area. The heat wave returned to the Cascades and we returned to the coast. We’ve been gorging ourselves on salal berries and taking walks along the beach and coastal forests as we slowly make our way towards Washington. Long time friends Terril and Lubos met us in Yachats for a fun day of hiking and eating. Last night we stayed at Cape Lookout State Park and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Today we are in Tillamook and David made us fresh berry pancakes for breakfast – a mix of blackberries and raspberries. Salal isn’t the only berry that is ripe right now. I love berry season!