Searching for black currents

The underbrush of the forest was dense yet the old stallion I was riding put his head down and plowed through. Ulysse and Eric followed within ear shot behind on foot, and in front leading the way were a local family whom had invited us to spend the day berry picking. We were headed to their favorite spot.


Once up in the mountains the father dismounted from his horse. We tied the animals to a nearby tree, and the search for black currents began. The large black berries grew on bushes in a small ravine. We were instructed by the family: pick the ripe black ones to eat; the green berries had other uses. The berries themselves had a particular and somewhat bitter taste, similar to a slice of turkey lathered with cranberry sauce.

Another big bucket was brought out “you can pick both the ripe and unripe berries for this bucket”, exclaimed the oldest son, who leant his English working in the tourism industry, and now studies in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. Hey explained that they would ferment the berries to make a strong wine to be consumed during winter.

Once back at their modest summer log cabin, we got to try a sample of a previous batch of wine made with red currents, a delicious experience. Afterwards we played a game of Frisbee, before enjoying a dinner of rice and pre-dried beef.

By Sarah McNair-Landry

Location:
Latitude:49.50139
Longitude:104.32087
GPS location Date/Time:07/29/2010 11:56:28 ULAT

Click the link below to see where we are located.
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