North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Kristine Naess <kristine.naess@lesbuissons.qc.ca>]

I think there are three problems with repsect to haskaps- first off they are 
blue and everyone thinks they should taste like blueberries- on a nice hot 
day try blending a cup of frozen haskaps with a cup of water and two table 
spoons of honey- put it in paper cups with lids and drink with a straw so you 
don't see the color and tell me what it tastes like- better yet do this with 
someone who hasn't seen the berries and doesn't know what to expect.  
Secondly many folks pick the berries before they are ripe- the berries turn 
blue well before they are ripe- they'll fall easily into your hand when they 
are ripe. Thirdly the first cultivars available in the states rank pretty low 
for flavour-  I've got a couple hundred seedlings from Maxine Thompsons 
program growing and they really do vary a lot flavour-wise. I had a taste 
testing of about 20 seedlings and the three cultivars Berry Blue, Blue Belle 
and Borealis.  Of these Blue Belle took last prize- sour and bitter-pretty 
much not worth eating- while Borealis took first prize, really nice- sweet 
but not bland. Berry blue was quite flavourfull but not sweet.  I'm looking 
forward to tasting Indigo Yum.
Might be too hot in NJ for good flavour- what are the temperatures like when 
they ripen in your area?

All the best,
Kristine, Québec Canada
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steven Covacci 
  To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 9:40 PM
  Subject: [nafex] Honeyberries (haskaps;edible blue-honeysuckle) - worth 
growing Zone 6b/7a?




  Hi,
  I have the following honeyberries (haskaps; edible blue-honeysuckle):






  Night Mist



  Blue Forest-(R) [cv. Magadan]



  Blue Pacific-(R) [cv. F-1-9-58]



  Borealis



  Tundra



  I was never impressed with the only two of the above that I've tried: Blue 
Forest and Blue Pacific (but haven't tried the others yet); they taste like 
under-ripe blueberries at best with a little bit of an interesting musky 
over-tone.  A nursery which sold me Night Mist tells me that this variety is 
one of the varieties that tastes sweet and good for fresh-eating, unlike a 
majority of the older varieties; they also recommend Midnight Blue for the 
same reason.  I'm highly skeptical.  Some say that honeyberries are only good 
if you can't grow blueberries (i.e. in certain provinces of CA), etc.  Yet 
others claim they are fantastic.  American persimmon, in my opinion, is the 
greatest-flavored of all temperate edibles; but if I only knew them through 
some of the worst varieties or certain wild trees, I would never have known 
how great a good variety could be.  
  So, for those who've tried the superior, newer varieties of honeyberries: 
are they as great as described?  If so, I'll add more bushes and know to 
expect that Night Mist and the others will be very different from the two 
aforementioned that I've tried (cf: Blue Forrest and Blue Pacific).  I will 
note that it's great to have these for the reason that they fruit, it seems, 
far earlier than any blueberry - a good substitute for the lack of 
blueberries.
  Thanks,
  Steve; NJ 
   
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