RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS
Although they grow wild all over the northeast and into Canada, black raspberries—or black caps as they’re sometimes called—
thrive best in a band of territory stretching from New Jersey westward through Pennsylvania and into Ohio. When I lived in Pennsylvania, the Fourth of July meant hanging out the American flag and heading to the wild black raspberry patches to gather a gallon of the shiny berries.
I tried growing cultivated black raspberry varieties in my garden in Pennsylvania, but their flavor lacked the luscious, fruity taste of the wild berries. (If you want to know what wild black raspberries taste like, the raspberry liqueur Chambord gives an overly sweet but fairly accurate approximation.) Finally I stopped trying—why toil to grow inferior berries when the fields and old meadows are full of better berries for free? Now that I live on the West Coast, there are no wild black raspberries and I have to satisfy myself with the cultivated kind.
Almost all frozen cultivated berries come from the Willamette Valley south of Portland, Oregon, where about 1,500 acres are planted. Ohio is another large black raspberry producer, with about 600 acres in production, although that is increasing. You’ll have a better chance of the berries having been hand-harvested if they come from Ohio.
THE ORGANIC FACTOR
Black raspberries are still close to the wild state, even the cultivated varieties, and so have good natural disease resistance. Though they may not be certified organic, they most likely haven’t been sprayed.
NUTRITION
Black raspberries are super sources of cancer-preventing antioxidants, surpassing other bramble fruits in most categories, including ellagic acid and phenolic compounds like anthocyanins. They are also rich in flavonols
like quercetin and catechins.
SEASONALITY
Black raspberry season runs from July 1 to July 15—get them while you can!
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Around the Fourth of July—the height of black raspberry season—look for ads for pick-your-own operations,
especially in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England. The plantings will be cultivated, but cultivated black raspberries are better than none.
You may find them in farmers’ markets, but wild black raspberries are so perishable that few make it to big retail outlets. Instead, you may find cultivated black raspberries in season, or bags of frozen organic cultivated berries. Black raspberries freeze well, but almost all will have been mechanically harvested, so you’ll probably find some underripe berries in the bag. Look them over carefully and discard any with any significant degree of red drupes (the small seeded knobs that make up the black cap).
STORAGE
Other than freezing or making them into preserves or jellies, they don’t store well. Use them right up.
USES
Black raspberries make astoundingly good jam, which is easiest to make if you don’t mind seeds. The shiny black berries are beautiful as decorations on tarts, clafoutis, and similar pastries, but the real glory of black raspberries is to pour the plump, juicy berries over vanilla ice cream and dig in.
VARIETY
Look for wild black raspberries, of course, but among the cultivated varieties, these are the best, with flavor closest to the wild.
ALLEN—Outstanding variety for making jam; large, sweet berries.
Black Hawk —Very large berries; nice balance of sweetness and acidity.
BRISTOL—A nearly seedless variety of excellent quality, good flavor.
HAUT—A favorite in mid-Atlantic states; sweet, high-quality fruit.
JEWEL—Similar to Bristol, except more productive. Intense flavor.
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