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| Japanese barberries File:Norwegian blueberry.jpg | Bilberry File:Ribes rubrum2005-07-17.JPG | File:Lonicera coerulea a3.jpg | Honeysuckle File:Stachelbeere (Ribes uva-crispa).jpg | Gooseberries File:Rubus chamaemorus close-up.JPG | Cloudberry File:Vaccinium corymbosum a2.jpg | Highbush blueberries File:Black Butte blackberry.jpg | Blackberries |
The common usage of the term "berry" is different from the scientific or botanical definition of a berry, which refers to a fleshy fruit produced from the ovary of a single flower where the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible fleshy portion(pericarp). The botanical definition includes many fruits that are not commonly known or referred to as berries, (2026). 9780143419549, DK Pub.. ISBN 9780143419549 such as , , , , , and chili peppers. Fruits commonly considered berries but excluded by the botanical definition include strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, which are , and mulberries, which are . Watermelons and pumpkins are giant berries that fall into the category "pepos". A plant bearing berries is said to be or .
Berries are eaten worldwide and often used in , Fruit preserves, , or . Some berries are commercially important. The berry industry varies from country to country as do types of berries cultivated or growing in the wild. Some berries such as raspberries and strawberries have been bred for hundreds of years and are distinct from their wild counterparts, while other berries, such as lingonberries and cloudberries, grow almost exclusively in the wild.
While many berries are edible, some are poisonous plant to humans, such as those of deadly nightshade and pokeweed. Others, such as the white mulberry, red mulberry, and elderberry, are poisonous when unripe, but are edible when ripe.
Berries also began to be cultivated in Europe and other countries. Some species of blackberries and raspberries of the genus Rubus have been cultivated since the 17thcentury, while smooth-skinned blueberries and cranberries of the genus Vaccinium have been cultivated in the United States for over a century. In Japan, between the 10th and 18thcenturies, the terms and (kanji: ; katakana: ) referred to many berry crops. The most widely cultivated berry of modern times is the strawberry, which is produced globally at twice the amount of all other berry crops combined.
The strawberry was mentioned by ancient Romans, who thought it had medicinal properties, but it was then not a staple of agriculture. Woodland strawberries began to be grown in French gardens in the 14thcentury. The musk strawberry( F. moschata), also known as the hautbois strawberry, began to be grown in European gardens in the late 16thcentury. Later, the Virginia strawberry was grown in Europe and the United States. The most commonly consumed strawberry, the garden strawberry( F. ananassa), is an accidental hybrid of the Virginia strawberry and a Chilean variety Fragaria chiloensis. It was first noted by a French gardener around the mid 18thcentury that, when F. moschata and F. virginiana were planted in between rows of F. chiloensis, the Chilean strawberry would bear abundant and unusually large fruits. Soon after, began to study the breeding of strawberries and made several discoveries crucial to the science of plant breeding, such as the sexual reproduction of strawberry. Later, in the early 1800s, English breeders of strawberry made varieties of F. ananassa which were important in strawberry breeding in Europe, and hundreds of cultivars have since been produced through the breeding of strawberries.
Berries under both definitions include blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, and the fruits of many other members of the heather family, as well as gooseberries, goji berries and elderberries. The fruits of some "currants" ( Ribes species), such as , and , are botanical berries, and are treated as horticultural berries (or as soft fruit in the UK), even though their most commonly used names do not include the word "berry".
Botanical berries not commonly known as berries include , , , (aubergines), , , and .
There are several different kinds of fruits which are commonly called berries, but are not botanical berries. Blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are kinds of aggregate fruit; they contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. In aggregate fruits like blackberries, the individual "fruitlets" making up the fruit can be clearly seen. The fruits of blackthorn may be called "sloe berries", but botanically are small or drupes, like or .
and Taxus are commonly said to have berries, but these plants do not produce botanical fruits at all: they are gymnosperms, specifically conifers, not angiosperms (flowering plants). Their "berries" are highly-modified seed-bearing Conifer cone. In juniper berries, used to flavour gin, the cone scales, which are hard and woody in most conifers, are instead soft and fleshy when ripe. The bright red berries of yews consist of a fleshy outgrowth(aril) almost enclosing the poisonous seed. The resemblance of these plant structures to botanical berries provides a striking example of convergent evolution in different plant clades.
Many soft fruit berries require a period of temperatures between for breaking dormancy. In general, strawberries require 200–300hours, blueberries 650–850hours, blackberries 700hours, raspberries 800–1700hours, Ribes and gooseberries 800–1500hours, and cranberries 2000hours. However, too low a temperature will kill the crops: blueberries do not tolerate temperatures below , raspberries, depending on variety, may tolerate as low as , and blackberries are injured below . Spring frosts are, however, much more damaging to berry crops than low winter temperatures. Sites with moderate slopes(), facing north or east in the Northern Hemisphere, near large bodies of water, which regulate spring temperature, are considered ideal in preventing spring frost injury to the new leaves and flowers. All berry crops have shallow root systems. Many US land-grant university extension offices suggest that strawberries should not be planted more than five years on the same site, due to the danger of black root rot (though many other illnesses go by the same name), which in the past has been controlled in major commercial production by annual methyl bromide fumigation but which is largely prohibited now. Besides the number of years in production, soil compaction, the frequency of fumigation, and herbicide usages increase the appearance of black root rot in strawberries. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and many other berries are susceptible to verticillium wilt. Blueberries and cranberries grow poorly if the clay or silt content of the soil is more than 20%, while most other berries tolerate a wide range of soil types. For most berry crops, the ideal soil is well drained sandy loam, with soil pH of 6.2–6.8 and a moderate to high organic content; however, blueberries have an ideal pH of 4.2–4.8 and can be grown on muck soils, while blueberries and cranberries prefer poorer soils with lower cation exchange, lower calcium, and lower levels of phosphorus.
Growing most berries organically requires the use of proper crop rotation, the right mix of cover crops, and the cultivation of the correct Soil microbes in the soil. As blueberries and cranberries thrive in soils that are not hospitable to most other plants, and conventional fertilizers are toxic to them, the primary concern when growing them organically is bird management.
Postharvest small fruit berries are generally stored at relative humidity and . Cranberries, however, are frost sensitive, and should be stored at . Blueberries are the only berries that respond to ethylene, but flavor does not improve after harvest, so they require the same treatment as other berries. Removal of ethylene may reduce disease and spoilage in all berries. Precooling within one to two hours post-harvest to storage temperature, generally, via forced air cooling increases the storage life of berries by about a third. Under optimum storage conditions, raspberries and blackberries last for two to five days, strawberries 7–10days, blueberries two to four weeks, and cranberries two to four months. Berries can be shipped under high carbon dioxide or modified atmosphere of carbon dioxide for high carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide and oxygen for a modified atmosphere container to increase shelf life and prevent grey mold rot.
In the late 2010s in the US, reduced migration from Mexico and Central America and increased minimum wage standards have made finding "stoop-work" labourers to pick the strawberry crop difficult and costly.
Berry colors are due to natural , including , such as , together with other localized mainly in berry skins, seeds and leaves. Although berry pigments have antioxidant properties , there is no physiological evidence established to date that berry pigments have actual antioxidant or any other functions within the human body. Consequently, it is not permitted to claim that foods containing polyphenols have antioxidant health value on product labels in the United States or Europe. Guidance for Industry, Food Labeling; Nutrient Content Claims; Definition for "High Potency" and Definition for "Antioxidant" for Use in Nutrient Content Claims for Dietary Supplements and Conventional Foods U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, June 2008
Berries are often used in baking, such as blueberry muffins, blackberry muffins, , berry crisps, berry cakes, berry buckles, berry crumb cakes, berry tea cakes, and berry cookies. Berries are commonly incorporated whole into the batter for baking, and care is often taken so as to not burst the berries. Frozen or dried berries may be preferable for some baked berry products. Fresh berries are also often incorporated into baked berry desserts, sometimes with cream, either as a filling to the dessert or as a topping.
Culinary significance
Use in baked goods
Berries are commonly used in pies or tarts, such as blueberry pie, blackberry pie, and strawberry pie.
Beverages
Berries are often added to water and/or fruit juice, as in cranberry juice, which accounts for 95% of cranberry crop usage, blueberry juice, raspberry juice, goji berry juice, acai juice, aronia berry juice, and strawberry juice. Wine is the principal alcoholic beverage made from berries(grapes). are commonly made out of other berries. In most cases, sugars must be added to the berry juices in the process of chaptalization to increase the alcohol content of the wine. Examples of fruit wines made from berries include: elderberry wine, strawberry wine, blueberry wine, blackberry wine, redcurrant wine, huckleberry wine, goji wine and cranberry wine. Berries are used in some styles of beer, particularly framboise (made with raspberry) and other fruit .
Dried
Zante currant, raisins and sultanas are examples of dried grape berries, and many other commercially important berries are available in dried form.
Fruit preserves
Berries are perishable fruits with a short shelf life, and are often preserved by dried fruit, frozen food, pickling or making fruit preserves. Berries such as blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, Lingonberry jam, loganberry, raspberry, and strawberry are often used in jams and jellies. In the United States, Native Americans were "the first to make preserves from blueberries".
Other usages
Chefs have created quick pickled soft fruit, such as blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Strawberries can be battered and quickly fried in a deep fryer. Sauces made from berries, such as cranberry sauce, can be frozen until hard, battered, and deep fried. Cranberry sauce is a traditional food item for Thanksgiving, and similar sauces can be made from many other berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and huckleberries.
In culture
Dye
Berries have been used in some cultures for dyeing. Many berries contain juices that can easily stain, affording use as a natural dye. For example, blackberries are useful for making dyes, especially when ripe berries can easily release juice to produce a colorfast effect. Rubus berries, such as blackberry, raspberry, black raspberry, dewberry, loganberry, and thimbleberry all produce dye colors. These were once used by Native Americans. In Hawaii, the native Hawaiian raspberry called was used to dye tapa cloth with lavender and pink hues, whereas berries from the dianella lily were used for blue coloration, and berries from the black nightshade were used to produce green coloration.
Research
Berry consumption is under preliminary research for the potential to improve nutrition and affect chronic diseases. A 2016 meta-analysis found that berry consumption can significantly lower body mass index, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and systolic blood pressure.
See also
Further reading
External links
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