Five Uses for Uncommon B-List Berries
April 24, 2012
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Miami
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Five Uses for Uncommon B-List Berries
When it comes to berries, most of us stick to the big three: strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. While there is nothing wrong with these delicious, nutrition-filled fruits. Many of our childhoods have some fond memories attached to these three berries: picking your own strawberries from a patch on a blazing hot summer day, hot blueberry pancakes on a lazy Sunday morning, or a casual walk through a roadside farm stand looking for the perfect pint of raspberries.
There are plenty of other berries out there, however, and each one deserves the same kind of love and devotion we give to their more recognizable cousins. We’ve put together a list of some of these B-list berries and some tasty ways to prepare them. Many Miami culinary schools have their students cook with these underutilized berries. Give them a try.
- Boysenberries
Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm fame was the first to commercially cultivate this raspberry/blackberry/Loganberry hybrid. A boysenberry pie will have you singing its praises to everyone you meet. Our favorite preparation, however, is boysenberry syrup. Put it on pancakes, waffles, French toast, or muffins.
- Mulberries
The short growing season for mulberries, just a few weeks at the end of April through the beginning of May, probably explains the lack of popularity for these fruits with a Middle Eastern heritage. Aside from the obvious choice of mulberry jams, mulberry chutney makes a great addition to any meal. Try it with grilled pork or chicken. It also goes well with roasted root vegetables like parsnips and yams. You can serve it as an appetizer with grilled flatbread.
- Huckleberry
This wild fruit only grows in a few places in the U.S., mainly in the Pacific Northwest, Michigan, and parts of Appalachia. Its very particular requirements for growing contribute to its blueberry-like taste. Use them in place of its more famous cousin for a slighter sweeter and astringent taste. Huckleberry muffins will liven up any brunch or book club meeting. Our favorite use of these blueberry imitators, however, is as a topping for cheesecake. Their strong flavor makes a pleasing contrast with the sour creaminess of the cheesecake.
- Marionberries
These cultivars of blackberries have a slightly sweeter and more complex flavor than other varieties of blackberries. This makes them an excellent candidate for gourmet uses like sorbet or a sauce for grilled meats, particularly pork. Our favorite marionberry recipe is a delicious marionberry peach crisp. The hearty marionberry flavor is a good match for the golden sweetness of the peaches.
Culinary schools have many pastry and confection classes and programs where you can learn how to cook with all types of berries, common and uncommon. This is one of the glories of attending culinary schools -- being able to experiment with all types of ingreidents.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in the Miami, Florida area. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Miami for more information.
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