Organic frozen berries from northern Ontario farm now available in Metro stores

Organic frozen berries from a farm in Warren, east of Sudbury, are hitting the shelves at grocery stores across Ontario.

Haskap, saskatoon, aronia and sea buckthorn berries from Boreal Berry Farm and Winery are now available in 18 Metro stores from Barrie to Thunder Bay.

Although the berries are unusual, owner Greg Melien said they can be used in smoothies, jams, jellies and pies, just like their more well-known counterparts.

"Most people will liken the haskap to a blueberry, a raspberry, a bit of an elderberry. So they're sweet, but they're also a bit tart," Melien explained.

"The saskatoon has almost an almondy kind of flavour to it. The aronia is similar to the saskatoon, it's got a bit more tannins in the skin, so it's a bit more tart. And then the sea buckthorn actually has a bit of a citrusy flavour to it."

From wine cellars to freezer cabinets

Melien and his wife Mira started growing haskap while he was in the military, and the couple decided to try their hand at farming in 2011 after he was discharged.

"We liked the fruit, we thought it was interesting and we thought it had a future," he said.

"We found a great piece of farm up here in Warren and it was just begging to be an orchard, and it sort of just fell into place I guess."

The 160-acre farm, which is touted as the largest certified organic boreal and arctic berry orchard in North America, is also home to a winery that produces wines, ice ciders and ice syrups.

Plans to go national

The bags of frozen fruit went on sale at Metro about a week ago, at $9.99 for a 400 gram bag, and Melien said they are already getting more orders.

They're also hoping to grow their business and offer the berries nationwide.

"Right now the manufacturing is the issue and we're working on that right now. We have a bunch of equipment that we're purchasing and will be set up in our winery to handle larger orders for sure."

Melien said they will be hiring people to run the new equipment and help meet demand for larger orders.