Yellowknife (Aug 02/06) - Yellowknife is ripe with berries from summer to fall. Edith Mair, 75, spends weeks picking the fruits, making jam and enjoying a healthy lifestyle outdoors.

It is a great way to "get out of the rat race," she says.

"My husband and I have been picking berries for years now. We pick wild blueberries, gooseberries and last year we picked 25 bags of cranberries."

Mair also picks raspberries and boysenberries and uses them all to make jam.

The berries can be found around Niven Lake, Frame Lake and virtually anywhere around Great Slave Lake.

"There is nothing more restful than picking berries," Mair says.

"We go out in our boat on the lake and we pick berries in our favourite secret spots."

She says that people should take advantage of the fine pickings in and around Yellowknife.

Mair says that her early morning berry picking walks help her and her husband Norm get their required daily exercise.

The fruit of their labour also provides them with much-needed nutrients. "Boysenberries are chock full of vitamin C," she says.

When finished with the jam, she loads it into in her basement.

"I have rows and rows of jam on shelves. I give them away to family and as gifts to friends."

Edith Mair's black currant jam recipe includes:

• Six cups of black currants
• Four cups of water
• Five cups of warmed sugar

Instructions:

1. Make sure you have plenty of jars - makes nine small jars.
2. Mash the six cups of black currants.
3. Add water to mashed black currants and bring to a boil.
4. Warm five cups of sugar and add to mixture, and stir it in. If the sugar is not warmed, it will crystallize and will make jam crunchy.
5. Bring it to a fast boil again for 20 minutes.
6. Heat up lids in hot water.
7. After 20 minutes, put a little knob of butter in it. This gets rid of the foam that rises to the top.
8. Pour the jam into the glass jars right away and put the sealing lids on. Screw the bands around as the jam will have enough heat to seal it.
9. Set it aside to cool.