Feeling Fruity Why Not Try the Lesser Know Fruit the Tayberry
So, what is it that you get when you cross a blackberry and a raspberry? Stemming from Scotland, we now have the tayberry. This beautiful deep reddish purple colored berry is very large and long in length.
The tayberry was first developed in Invergowrie (right by the Tay River, thus the name) by David Jennings and David Mason, botanists at the Scottish Crops Institute. This raspberry-blackberry cross produces its fruit in July and August; and the berries are wonderful eaten fresh or cooked into a variety of foods.
The Tayberry looks at first glance like a blackberry, but all it takes is one taste to know this is no ordinary blackberry. The tayberry has a tart bite thanks to its raspberry heritage, which sets it apart. This is a surprising but deliciously welcome newcomer to the fruits in your local market.
A tayberry makes a great pie, which is a wonderful change of pace and is welcome at any late summer picnic. You can make tayberries into a deliciously tart-sweet jam, which makes a great sandwich or toast topping.
Try adding tayberries to a bowl of yogurt or ice cream, or incorporate them into fruit salads and smoothies for something a little different. In fact, you can use tayberries anywhere you would ordinarily use blackberries or raspberries. Tayberries are an exciting addition to your morning cereal, baked goods and of course, they are wonderful just eaten as they are - there’s no wrong answer to the question of how to enjoy these fruits.
You may want to bring along a nice bottle of tayberry wine to your wonderful evening dinner. It is called tayberry because they were developed near the Valley of the Tay River. This wine is delicious and very vibrant red in color. It is a tart, yet sweet wine. You can enjoy it with a beef stew, roast, and other meats such as steak and wild game, such as duck. You can also enjoy it with hors d’oeuvres and a strong cheddar cheese. It is a fairly priced bottle of wine running about $15.
The tayberry is not just rich in flavor, but has a lot of health benefits to offer. These two-in-one fruits contain a lot of vitamin C and bioflavonoids as well as being a good source of folate and fiber. The tayberry fruit and the leaves are a good home remedy for diarrhea.
Another home remedy using tayberry leaves (originally raspberry or blackberry leaves, but tayberry works equally well) is to chew the leaves as a cure for bleeding gums. The Scots have been using this home remedy for 2,000 years!
Tayberry can be used for many things from home remedies to food and wine. Definitely a different type of fruit and surely delicious you will be amazed at how many things you can make with it. Although tart in nature, many have used it to make pies, jams, and pudding. Sure there is a lot more that you can find in such an exotic fruit. It is really only limited by your imagination.
