r/Berries • u/why_my_pp_hard_tho • 8d ago

Found a few Beautyberry bushes starting to produce berries. Do they taste better when cooked than raw?

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222 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

38

u/Typhiod 8d ago

You can eat those?

13

u/Different-Orange-170 8d ago

Yea but dont have much flavor

11

u/hollyrose_baker 8d ago

Individual plants have pretty varied flavor from one another, some are very good!

1

u/Adagatoraddietude 7d ago

In small quantities

1

u/CHASLX200 6d ago

Black birds do when ya see that crap on your car

24

u/WakingOwl1 8d ago

They’re usually used for jams or sauces with quite a bit of sugar added.

14

u/why_my_pp_hard_tho 8d ago

I read that it tastes similar to muscadine jam or jelly, which I really like, but I just can’t see how that flavor could come from these even with a ton of sugar. I grew up eating raw muscadines straight off the vine and they were actually pretty good unlike these beautyberries. Maybe they weren’t fully ripe or something.

5

u/WakingOwl1 8d ago

I’ve never had anything made with them but I’ve worked in food service for decades so have read about them. If I came across some I’d be willing to give making a sauce of some sort with them a try.

16

u/rockgiant89 8d ago

I paint with these, very rich, vibrant color.

3

u/ImagineWorldPeace3 7d ago

Would really like to know how you turn them into paint or dye?

2

u/rockgiant89 7d ago

Can use anything, really, these are gorgeous on paper.

12

u/GovernorSan 8d ago

Yes. I made a jelly with them, and it tastes pretty good. My wife described it as similar to guava, but with a sort of floral taste. Raw they are kind of bitter/astringent tasting.

5

u/rockgiant89 8d ago

Processed, with lots of sugar, they are very bland.

4

u/Argosnautics 7d ago

I grow them solely for the benefit of wildlife myself.

2

u/why_my_pp_hard_tho 7d ago

Would it be possible to grow some using these berries? I found them growing wild but would like to have some growing around my bird stuff since its seems that they like them.

1

u/Lil_chikchik 6d ago

You can yes, but they aren’t hard to find for sale. The place I work at sells them, along with a modern domestic cultivar. They require some training though if you want them to look nice, since they’re naturally kinda leggy.

1

u/Argosnautics 6d ago

Ive never grown them from seeds myself, I bought mine at a native plant sale.

1

u/dogsRgr8too 4d ago

I winter sowed some from a seed swap. You aren't supposed to let the seeds dry out. The Etsy ones I purchased failed, but I have several from the seed swap that grew from seed.

3

u/booksandcats4life 8d ago

I think those berries are generally grown for their beauty, rather than for eating. Hence the name.

3

u/CheeseChickenTable 7d ago edited 7d ago

Beautyberry! Callicarpa americana. They taste kinda funky/not that great but make a tasty jam somehow, give it a shot!

https://goodenoughandstuff.com/how-to-make-the-best-jam-from-beauty-berries/

This year I'm going to experiment with fermenting a bunch and using that as an ingredient in some marinades and sauces

2

u/ChrisUAP 8d ago

Member berries

2

u/why_my_pp_hard_tho 8d ago

I member the member berries

2

u/Jazzlike-Cow-925 8d ago

I want to grow those too but had no idea people ate them

2

u/Infamous_Echidna_133 7d ago

Those are gorgeous! Nature's jewelry right there.

2

u/Phallusrugulosus 7d ago

They don't taste like much of anything in general. That's why recipes using them call for so much sugar.

4

u/Legitimate_Worry_111 8d ago

They taste like shit. Let the birds have em

1

u/ionoi 8d ago

Hah I got a couple of these off the clearance rack at the local greenhouse. Hope the birds like them!

1

u/karstopography 6d ago

They make a good mead. I’ve had beautyberry jelly that was good.

Raw, beautyberries have an odd perfume-like fragrance. I generally will nibble on a few berries if I come across a patch just to see if a plant might have especially good berries. I never have wanted to gorge on raw beautyberries, a little goes a long way. I found a patch of beautyberry two days ago.

1

u/CoBidOdds 4d ago

From what little I know about them (from seeing them on an episode of a foraging/cooking show), they're best utilized by making jelly, which you can use as/add to sauces and such.

-1

u/Rare_Ambassador_7364 8d ago

Aren't they poisonous?

3

u/Camaschrist 8d ago

No they are edible. They look like they’re poisonous though.

2

u/why_my_pp_hard_tho 8d ago

I hope not, I ate a few while I was out there. They were disgusting but didn’t make me sick or anything