Les tartes de Simonne

Haskap berry pie (ready to bake)

Born in 1914, the same year that Canada entered the First World War, Simonne grew up at the end of Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean’s settlement period. At the age of 14, she started working as a maid for a doctor and got married at 20 to a farmer’s son, who became a merchant in her village. She had her first son in 1935 and was the mother of 9 children. The house was always busy with family, friends, employees, and trappers passing by to stock up at her husband’s store. The dinner tables were always full and when it came time for dessert, Simonne’s pies were always eagerly anticipated. With summer came pies made with seasonal fruits (strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, blueberries, etc.) that the children picked, eating almost as many as they put in their baskets! The pies were baked in a wood-fired oven in the summer kitchen attached to the house, which gave them a unique taste. Simonne has been inspiring her family’s dinner tables for generations, and today she is the inspiration behind the pie that you are about to taste. A small, blue, oval-shaped berry with purple flesh and a unique and complex taste. Its flavour is often thought of as a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry with a hint of sourness. Long known in Asia, where it is called the fruit of longevity, Japanese people have used it for several hundred years. The haskap berry is now grown in Quebec’s boreal regions, to the delight of its enthusiasts. One of the berries richest in antioxidants and chemoprotective agents, it is a useful addition in the prevention of several chronic diseases, such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It is a substantial source of vitamins C and A, and is high in fibre and potassium. So we can argue that the haskap berry is by far the best ally for the human body, that it’s worth discovering, and that it has a bright future ahead!