Whilst foraging it is imperative that you correctly identify the fruits before eating.

Native Americans once did just this, roasting the paste into small energy rich snacks.ДЇruits ( Celtis occidentalis)В (Photo by StenВ onВ Wikimedia Commons) Cautions This can be baked into small cookie shapes and eaten. The small seed within the fruit contains a nut which if collected, ground and mixed with water, can actually produce a milk, not unlike almond milk.ДЄn alternate way to eat the berries is to grind the fruit, seed and all into a paste. The thin flesh of the fruit has a sweet taste, although it is unlikely you will be able to harvest enough to create anything too meaningful with them. Only the fruits of a hackberry are edible. Small, inconspicuous, green flowers appear in late spring after the arrival of the leaves. Leaves are long heart shapes, alternate, and have a slightly serrated edge. The bark is light gray, with a fairly distinctive ridged, wart like pattern adorning the trunk. YouвЂ™ll typically find them growing no larger than 20m in height, however optimal conditions can support trees that reach heights of almost 40m. HackberryВ ( Celtis occidentalis) (Photo by Yuriy KvachВ onВ Wikimedia Commons) Whereas southern hackberry, or sugarberry, is found in moist, nutrient rich soils near sources of water. Northern hackberry is usually found in higher, sometimes rocky locations. However they do tend to inhabit different areas. They each bear similar fruits and similar leaf appearance. Apart from their native range, both trees are extremely similar. Whereas the southern hackberry can be found in the southeastern states, particularly Missouri and Georgia. Northern hackberry is native throughout the midwest and north eastern states. And also the southern hackberry ( Celtis laevigata), also known as sugarberry. The northern hackberry ( Celtis occidentalis), also kown by a number of other names including, beaverwood, nettletree, American hackberry and simply, common hackberry. Hackberry ( Celtis spp.) is a hardwood deciduous tree that bears tiny red/purple, edible fruits. Please email me directly at with any questions. Click Here for more information and to sign up. Hopefully you can make it to our July class. Also, When I made it I did not mash the baerries and lemon zest together as the recipe suggests, i stirred gently, it ends up for a prettier (and more colorful-if you add cranberries) tart and has a better texture I think.Do you live in Connecticut or Nearby? is now offering in-person foraging classes. let set at least 2 hours, overnight is better. Also, if your blackberries are sweet rather than tart, i'd recommend mixing some cranberries in for tartness (about a cup) and using 1 tsp of vanilla instead of a tablespoon, otherwise it's too sweet. to help it set, 2 tsp of cornstarch will do the trick. if done in pie-size, I recommend using a glass pie tin (not a aluminum one), use shortening/crisco on the pie plate and sprinkle with flower before putting the crust down, so the bottom crust isn't soggy and pulls out when served easier. I increased the baking time to 37 minutes on the lowest oven rack with the crust shielded to prevent over-browning. The taste is delicious but with the increased size/ and the high altitute I live at I had to compensate as the tart was far too liquidous if following the recipe and would never set.

I made this but instead of individual tarts, i did so as one pie-sized tart.

Hackberry tart