My favorite berry!
Posted on 05/27/2010 7:14:56 PM PDT by thecodont
To the uninitiated, the boysenberry may look like a big, blowzy, underripe blackberry, but it is in fact a noble fruit, as distinct from a common blackberry as a thoroughbred is from a mule.
Large, dark purple, juicy and intense, it derives its unique flavor from its complex ancestry: sweetness and floral aroma from its raspberry grandmother, and a winy, feral tang from three native blackberry species.
It's a California classic, emblematic of the joys of growing up in the Southland before it succumbed completely to sprawl. And it's all the more precious, despite its near extinction in this state, because it evokes why people moved here in the first place.
But Boysens can still be found if you know where to look, although their season is brief — late May to early July — and they are so delicate that as a fresh fruit they can be enjoyed at their best only from farmers markets, farm stands and home gardens.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
My favorite berry!
Mine too.
I love them too! There was a boysenberry in the back yard that was a gift to my father in law from the son of the Knott family. Unfortunately, the berry bush died.
My mother worked as a waitress at Knott’s Berry Farm in 1942—when it was still a berry farm.
Mine are blooming great guns and have little green berries on right now, here in Nebraska. They’re big and juicy enough that I can squeeze the juice out and my husband can have them, as opposed to raspberries which don’t leave much after the seeds are removed - which my husband can’t have because of his ulcerative colitis.
I got one plant for next to nothing because it was almost dead at the farm store here in town. I had no idea what they were but was willing to give them a try. I’m glad I did. If I had a bigger area for the suckers to spread into I’d have tons before long.
That reminds me of an old seed/nursery order house called Gurney's (Yankton, SD). Back in the '70s (when old George Gurney still ran things) they had big, full-color catalogs with all sorts of interesting merchandise. Not only could you buy vegetable and flower seeds, but also nursery items (plants, shrubs, trees, and flowers), copper bracelets, Lawrence Welk records, and live chicks!
They offered a couple of low-priced gardening treats. One was a "Giant Jumble Packet" of mixed vegetable and flower seeds, just for children, and only for a penny. The other was a bargain "grab bag" of seeds and plants. One almost-dead looking plant I got in a grab bag turned into a pretty flower. Things can look like dried twigs in shipment but really take off after being planted and given a little TLC.
If it was still a berry farm, then why did they have waitresses?
You must be a Citizens for Boysenberry Jam fan.
I like Yoplait’s Boysenberry yogurt.
My folks still order from the Gurney’s catalog. =)
I love gardening. I think every dried-up plant knocked down by winter becomes real-life proof of resurrection in the spring. Every year I think I’ve lost everything and every year each new sprig of returning green is like Christmas all over again for me. Makes me hope.
Hope is a precious commodity for me these days. I need constant reminders that anything’s possible.
We shouldn't be imposing berry stereotypes on our fruit.
-PJ
I live in NC, but I have family pick up Knotts Boysenberry Syrup for me when they go to CA....Love it on waffles...
From google, somewhere:
” Knott’s Berry Farm started in 1920 as a ten acre berry farm, which the Knott’s leased. In 1927 the Knott’s bought the ten acre farm and then In 1929, when land prices dropped sharply, the Knott’s bought another ten acres.
In 1932 Mr. Knott went to visit Mr. Rudolph Boysen, who lived in Anaheim, California. Mr Boysen had developed a new berry, by crossing a loganberry with a blackberry and a raspberry. He gave Mr. Knott his only six remaining plants and Mr. Knott transplanted the plants to his farm at Buena Park, where they thrived. In honor of Mr. Boysen, Mr. Knott named the berry the Boysenberry. Walter Knott’s wife, Cordelia Knott, made jam and pies with the Boysenberry and sold them at their roadside stand.
In 1934 the Knott’s added a room to their home and opened their first restaurant where they served chicken dinners.
In 1940 they started to create the “ Living Ghost Town”, which Mr. Knott considered a tribute to the history of the old west. The Ghost Town provided free entertainment to the many dinner guests. By 1941 the farm had expanded to over 120 acres, employed up to 400 employees, had over 100,000 visitors and served over 6,000 chicken dinners in just one very busy day.
In 1946 the Chicken Restaurant seated 880 and the Steak House 450 guests.
In 1947 Knott’s Berry Place was renamed to Knott’s Berry Farm. In 1954 the Bird Cage Theatre opened in Ghost Town. In 1960 the Calico Mine Ride opened.
In 1968 a general admission fee was charged for the amusement park for the first time. In 1969 the log ride opened. In 1975 the Corkscrew roller coaster opened and in 1976 the 20-story Sky Jump opened. In 1978 the roller coaster Montezooma’s Revenge opened in Fiesta Village. In 1983 Camp Snoopy opened. In 1990 the Corkscrew roller coaster was replaced with the Boomerang roller coaster. In 1998 GhostRider roller coaster opened. “
I love your post. It was like a breath of fresh air.
Now, that’s a downright lovely post.
Now, whenever I visit the Southland I shake my head at what its become.
Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner Restaraunt. Great fried chicken and when I was kid that is all they served. That and Boysenberry pie.
1. Kids at my son’s school still learn the history. Tonight was open house, and his class had displays and models of local history. One project was Knott’s Berry Farm.
2. Our backyard had a long fence full of boysenberry vines where I grew up, in the San Diego area. My Dad made wonderful boysenberry pie.
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