North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Hal Love" <lovehd@comcast.net>]

>     Have any of you tasted a Honeyberry, the edible-fruited Honeysuckle,
> Lonicera kamchatika?  If so, how was it?  Did you like it?  The 'book'
says
> that the flavor resembles that of a Blueberry; is that true?
>     My reason for asking is because I'm in the process of making my plant
> orders for 2005 and my wife and I are considering buying several, or more,
> honeyberry trees.  As I mentioned another time, we make gourmet
> jams/jellies/syrups from the fruits we grow ourselves, here in
North-central
> Minnesota.

I have tried growing a few Honeyberry plants ("Haskap" is going to take some
getting used to, does not sound very "fruity"). They were very prone to
foliar diseases. I have never managed to get two to survive long enough to
pollinate each other, so I have never tasted the fruit. I look forward to
trying some of Dr. Thompson's selections.

>We are always looking for new (delicious) flavors.
> If you have a different fruit suggestion for us to try, we'd enjoy
> hearing about it.
> Thanks,
> Jim Fruth
> Pequot Lakes, MN

Are you growing Aronia? I picked up several types of jams/jellies from
Hector Black in September at the farmers market in Cookeville, TN at a
pawpaw gathering. There was Aronia, Gooseberry, Mayhaw, Pawpaw-calamondin,
and several others I am forgetting. All were good, the pawpaw-calamondin was
great, but the Aronia jelly was the best of all, best I have ever tasted. I
intend to order a few plants to put out next spring.

Hal Love
Whites Creek, TN