Thursday, July 15, 2010

Tayberries

I'd never heard of Tayberries until I found them recently at my local Farmer's Market.  According to Wikipedia, the tayberry is a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry.  I found the flavor to be, surprisingly, a bit of both.  I was skeptical that I would find both flavors, but I did.  Note this:  "Unfortunately, Tayberries do not pick easily by hand and cannot be machine harvested and so they have never become a widely grown berry crop."  That explains why I'd never seen them before!

If you get a chance to try a tayberry, please do!  I recommend eating them just as they are.
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9 comments:

  1. Angela McRae12:10 PM

    Well that's a new one on me! The combination of raspberry and blackberry greatly appeals to me, though, so it's too bad they're not more widely grown!

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  2. mep1:40 PM

    Sounds delicious to me and I know my boys--huge fans of blackberries and raspberries--would love them! I wonder how hard it would be to grow and pick one's own tayberries . . .

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  3. Alex Zorach8:30 AM

    Does the stem come off, like a blackberry, or stay on the plant, like a rapsberry?

    I knew they were related but I thought they'd be too distant to cross!

    I know there are dozens of different species of blackberries. There are two that grow in my back yard; both are delicious, but have few berries, and very small ones. Nearby is a third species, that has large, and numerous berries that are rather bitter--quite unpleasant actually. I've seen some blackberry plants that grow huge (10+ feet tall) and have immense berries that are very sweet. There's yet another species that grows wild here in Delaware that grows pretty deep in the woods and has a beautiful, large white flower, and a moderate amount of medium-sized berries...I haven't tried it yet.

    I just love the diversity of berries!

    Have you ever had a dewberry? Or a cloudberry?

    Cloudberries are a peach-colored raspberry-like berry that usually only grows one or a few berries at a time. Dewberries are blackberry like but also only grow a few at a time, close to the ground...they have them in Maine and they're tasty!

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  4. Steph11:48 AM

    Alex - I have not had the pleasure to try dewberries or cloudberries, but I hope to!

    I've recently learned that the big, fat, sweet and juicy blackberries that ripen in August here in the PNW, the ones that grow on the sides of roads, are invasive. They're called Himalayan Blackberries and they are quite a problem.

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  5. parTea lady11:58 AM

    I've never heard of tayberries, but I'd like to try them if I ever have the chance.

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  6. Marilyn Miller12:00 PM

    I didn't know any were grown around here. I have heard from my jam factory that tayberry jam is very popular in England. Now you really must try marionberries, they are the very best and only grown in the PNW.

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  7. Anonymous1:23 PM

    oooh, they look yummy!

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  8. kimberly shaw11:56 PM

    These look amazing, hope I'll get a chance to try them.

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  9. claire7:31 AM

    I've never seen one of these! I want to try! :)

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