jostaberries

[mellowtigger]

I've got a "bumper crop" of jostaberries this year. There are so many, and they're so heavy, that they are bending all of the branches down to the ground. Despite what you see in this photo, I've already collected a big mixing bowl full of them, now sitting frozen in my fridge.

The big letdown, though, is that they're not at all sweet. They're not bitter either, but they are severely astringent. They make my mouth dry and pucker when I eat them. It's like the plant specializes in making alum. I'm not sure what to do with them. They're not great for eating frozen, like I do with the juneberries, raspberries, and strawberries. If anybody's in the area and wants some, you're welcome to come pick whatever you want.

I bought this josta berry black variety because it was thornless. Maybe I should've gone with the gooseberries instead, then gotten either the black velvet or Hinnomaki red variety. I don't know. I hopefully have enough years left in me that I could order them and replace the plants, maybe still getting some good harvests from them while I'm alive and in this house.

I'm still waiting on cherries. *sigh* The drought was bad this year, and I never got a single cherry from it this year. That's an even worse performance than last year.

Comments

[mallorys_camera]

Jostaberries!

I've never heard of them! 😀

[bitterlawngnome]

Well that sucks. Have you tried them cooked, are they still yucky?

[foeclan]

Looks like most folks make jams or pies out of them.

Jam
Here's a wine recipe

[kathmandu]

My partner, who is a gourmet cook, thinks recipes for persimmons might work with those.

[geowench]

I would make a quick bread with them. You can sweeten to your taste. Any recipe for blueberry quick bread will work just fine. Or if you have a banana bread recipe you like, just add 1-2 C of berries to the batter. And then you have breakfast for the week.