Black Berries

Week 4 of our bag from Fresh Fork Market includes a quart of farmstead (made on-site at the farm) yogurt from Velvet-View; pint of blackberries black raspberries (yes, there's a difference); peaches; zucchinis; radishes; lettuce; kale; and Italian sausage links.

After reading several articles online about blackberries and black raspberries, there are differences between the two unrelated to color -- blackberries can be red before they are ripe. 

Day 362/365

A very obvious cue between the two is the location of the fruit's central core (not the technical term) after being picked. Raspberries leave a whitish core with the shrub stem, which results in a hollow fruit. Blackberries retain them when picked, so they appear whole, not hollow.  Another visual cue is that raspberries are hairy, while blackberries are smooth.

Seasonally, its availability isn't obvious at the grocery store, price aside, since somewhere in the world these fruits are being grown. In the United States, raspberries are traditionally available in the early summer before blackberries. Also, black raspberries are grown only in the US. Although, with hybridization amongst these similarly appearing "aggregate" fruits, the seasons may extend as late as fall.

We ate a handful while processing our basket to go into the freezer so we would have available small serving size pouches when we make smoothies as a cool treat over the summer or as a dinner replacement.

- Cassaendra

Fresh Fork Market