It’s serviceberry season. What the heck is a serviceberry? 

Serviceberries grow in clusters on trees all over Atlanta Provided by Serviceberry Fest Local foragers know that the last stretch of spring is the serviceberry s time to shine The North American native plant s harvesting season is reaching its tail end Atlanta foragers chefs and bartenders will mark the end of the season with the fourth annual Serviceberry Fest on Tuesday June in the courtyard of Chef Karl Gorline s restaurant Avize on Brady Avenue Proceeds from the event which include dishes and beverages using serviceberries from chefs like Gorline Duane Nutter Southern National Hudson Rouse Rising Son Whoopsie s Pure Quill Superette Ayanna John-Carter and Sadiyyah Iddeen Trending Tending and Terry Koval The Deer and the Dove B-Side Fawn will go toward planting a publicly accessible serviceberry orchard in Atlanta Serviceberries grow from small flowering trees in the Amelanchier genus While serviceberries are native to North America different species exist across the United States and Canada and a limited species are even native to Europe and Asia Amelanchier plants vary across climates In Atlanta for example serviceberry trees can reach tree probable while Amelanchier plants in cooler and more arid environments typically don t grow beyond shrubs In Georgia serviceberry trees typically reach to feet in height Serviceberry flowers are usually white or very light pink have a delicate appearance and emerge in the early spring The trees are known to flower around the same time as dogwoods Eventually dark purple berries begin to grow and cluster together Although serviceberries closely resemble blueberries they have a mellower and more distinct flavor Several people describe the taste as slightly nutty or an overlap of almond blueberry and cherry Serviceberries also offer notable strength benefits Arabia Mountain park ranger and Atlanta forager Robby Astrove likens serviceberries to acai or muscadines That dark purple is very indicative of high antioxidants It s not just good for people but this is a great species for wildlife and attracting birds to your yard Astrove commented who founded nonprofit Fruit Forward Orchards and co-founded the Serviceberry Fest Astrove first encountered serviceberries after moving to metro Atlanta in the late s and getting involved with Trees Atlanta In he began foraging on behalf of local restaurants after meeting several chefs through his foraging operation and involvement with the East Atlanta Village Farmers Region Astrove has also worked with the Food Well Alliance and earlier this year joined Slow Food Atlanta Robby Astrove left and Jess Pfeffer right Courtesy of Jenna Mobley He s now considered a serviceberry authority often referred to as a serviceberry whisperer in chef and foraging circles If Robby is supplying someone with something foraged that means he thinks they have good food and he wants to be part of it reported Chef Hudson Rouse owner of Rising Son Pure Quill Superette and Whoopsie s He first met Astrove years ago while working as a vendor at the East Atlanta Village Farmers Sphere Gorline met Astrove when he worked at Watershed in Brookwood Hills and right away yearned to be part of his foraging mission Realizing his impact on local food and restaurants around town Gorline felt it was time to find other techniques to continue supporting Astrove s work It s one of the reasons he offered the outdoor space at Avize to Astrove for the Serviceberry Fest Related stories Check out the menu for Alpine-inspired restaurant Avize Neighborhood industry and lunch counter Pure Quill Superette opensDuring the early days of the COVID- pandemic Astrove developed a relationship with Jess Pfeffer of Jess Pfeffer Holistic Event Planning The couple now married conceptualized the Serviceberry Fest together as a way to help local restaurants during the wellness emergency Robby was already foraging and bringing berries and other local native ingredients to restaurants Pfeffer commented The inaugural Serviceberry Fest in took place at A Sip of Paradise Garden in East Atlanta and featured eight chefs and two bartenders Each chef and bartender was given more than pounds of serviceberries and invited to showcase dishes and drinks using the foraged ingredient A percentage of the proceeds helped fund a serviceberry orchard planted at Wadsworth Magnet School in Belvedere Park in Harvest your ownRobby Astrove middle with a group of helpers planting serviceberry trees Courtesy of Robby Astrove Serviceberries bloom and bear fruit earlier than multiple other trees and when harvesting foragers may leave several fruit behind because serviceberries are very popular with birds Astrove and Pfeffer recommend leaving around percent of the tree s fruit for birds In nature serviceberry trees grow in the understory of the forest but Atlanta offers plenty of opportunities for urban serviceberry foraging One doesn t have to tour far in fact there are plenty of serviceberry trees to harvest from inside the Perimeter Local nonprofit Concrete Jungle includes serviceberries on their tree map and all listed serviceberry trees are either located on masses property or open to foragers For example serviceberry trees can be revealed at Piedmont Park and on Georgia Tech s campus Astrove literally helped plant a large number of of the trees on the map around a decade ago Koval was given a serviceberry tree at the first festival in Next spring it will decisively bear fruit and he and his son can harvest the berries in their yard In the meantime he s made good use of the serviceberry trees available to the general for harvesting in Avondale Estates and Decatur one of which is located across the street from his downtown Decatur restaurant The Deer and the Dove Cooking with serviceberriesCourtesy of Jenna Mobley Courtesy of Jenna Mobley Once harvested the main challenge with serviceberries is cleaning the fruit As with other berries stems end up in the bounty When cooking with serviceberries preserving the taste is another challenge You can drown the flavor of the fruit out very easily because it s mild Rouse explained To Rouse the opportunity to let the serviceberry s taste shine comes best through breakfast dishes and Southern cuisine At Rising Son and Pure Quill serviceberries are frequently incorporated into jellies Rouse s serviceberry Trojan horse and served in tandem with biscuits or sausage Rouse has also made serviceberry waffles Related stories Chef Terry Koval opens Fawn wine and amaro bar Add these Atlanta-made gins and sojus to your home barKoval highlights the acidity of serviceberries by contrasting it with fat pork chops veal and venison make ideal companions for sauces and gastriques used for dishes at The Deer and the Dove Koval s favorite way to implement serviceberries however is in a drink and his kitchen hoards the harvest so the bar can offer the Something Genteel year-round The cocktail combines foraged serviceberry syrup with Murrell s Row Tulsi gin honeysuckle and lemon juice At Avize Gorline pairs serviceberry jus with the fallow deer venison subject as of now on the menu While this year s Serviceberry Fest is nearly sold out Atlantans do have another opportunity to taste serviceberries at A Sip of Paradise Garden adjacent to the East Atlanta Village Farmers Arena on Thursday May from - p m And for those hoping to make something with serviceberries at home try this Serviceberry Fizz recipe from A Sip of Paradise Garden served at a previous Serviceberry Fest Serviceberry Fizz recipe Ingredients handful serviceberries oz simple syrup lemon balm leaves plus more for garnish oz fresh lemon juice mountain mint leaves Sparkling water Directions Muddle serviceberries and lemon balm leaves in a shaker tin Add simple syrup and lemon juice shake hard with ice Double strain mixture over fresh ice in a Collins glass and top with sparkling water Garnish with mountain mint leaves and fresh lemon balm The post It s serviceberry season What the heck is a serviceberry appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta