So, you’ve never eaten honeyberries, and you want to know how they taste.
Keep on reading, because in this post you will find out how they taste, what variety is the best, and what health benefits these berries have.
How Do Honeyberries Taste?
Honeyberries taste sour-sweet. They taste like a cross between raspberries and blueberries.
People generally love the taste of honeyberries. They are rather sweet, but a light sourness is also present. You can compare their taste to slightly underripe blueberry, blackberry, or raspberry, as honeyberries are highly related to blueberries.
So, if you like blueberries, you will definitely love the taste of honeyberries too. They also might taste like a mix of cherry, grape, blueberry, or kiwi.
Of course, when unripe, honeyberries are really tough, and sour.
Most varieties have a chewy texture, but some are firm.
They are great for fresh eating, as well as for cooking, and winemaking.
What’s the Tastiest Honeyberry Variety?
The tastiest honeyberry variety is Aurora to eat. If you’re looking for the best variety for cooking, go for Happy Giant. For winemaking, the best variety would be the Blue Banana variety.
There are dozens of honeyberry varieties. Each of them is different in flavor.
Honeyberries can be divided into 4 groups: tart, sweet-tart, sweet, and very sweet.
Tart: Blue Belle
Sweet-tart: Happy Giant, Berry Blue, Jolanta, Bakczarskaja J., Strawberry Sen., Tundra, Blue Cloud, Wojtek, Rebeca, Vostorg, Honeybee, Gordost’ Bakczara, Kanu, Blue Moose
Sweet: Boreal Beauty, Boreal Blizzard, Tana, Aurora, Blue Treasure, Indigo Gem, Blue Dessert, Jugana, Docz’ Velikana, Honey Delight
Very sweet: Giant’s Heart, Blue Banana, Sugar Mtn. Blue, Zojka, Boreal Beast
If you’re looking for a variety that’s good for fresh eating, all sweet-tart, sweet, and very sweet varieties will be perfect. People around the world especially enjoy Aurora, Honey Delight, and Blue Banana.
For cooking, go with tart, or sweet-tart, for example, Blue Belle, or Jolanta. For winemaking, the best ones will be sweet, or very sweet cultivars. Boreal Beauty, or Boreal Blizzard should be ok.
Are Honeyberries Good for Fresh Eating?
Honeyberries are perfect for fresh eating, as they taste very good, just like any other berries, and have many health benefits.
Here’s a table comparing honeyberries, blueberries, oranges, and apples in terms of vitamin and mineral content per 100g.
| Fruit | Potassium (mg) | Calcium (mg) | Phosphorrus (mg) | Iron (mg) | Vit. A (ug) | Vit. C (mg) | Vit. E (mg) | Calories |
| Honeyberry | 190 | 38 | 25 | 0.6 | 130 | 44 | 1.1 | 53 |
| Blueberry | 70 | 8 | 9 | 0.2 | 55 | 9 | 1.7 | 49 |
| Orange | 130 | 17 | 12 | 0.1 | 60 | 35 | 0.4 | 39 |
| Apple | 110 | 3 | 8 | 0.1 | 11 | 3 | 0.2 | 50 |
As you can see, honeyberry has more nutritional value than blueberry, orange, or apple, which makes it one of the healthiest fruit that you can eat.
And here is the table with honeyberry nutritional value.
| Nutrient | Amount per 100g | % Daily Value |
| Water | 82.7 g | NA |
| Protein | 1.6 g | 3% |
| Fat | 1.6 g | NA |
| Fiber | 6.7 g | 27% |
| Vit. C | 12.1 mg | 20% |
| Vit. B1 | 0.16 mg | 11% |
| Vit. B2 | 0.02 mg | 1% |
| Vit. B6 | 0.02 mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 24.5 mg | 2% |
| Copper | 0.06 mg | 3% |
| Iron | 0.27 mg | 2% |
| Magnesium | 13.5 mg | 3% |
| Manganese | 0.14 mg | 7% |
Honeyberries are a great source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B1, and other minerals.
The health benefits of honeyberries include:
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Better eye health
- Cardiovascular benefits
- Anti-diabetic effects
- Reducing urinary tract infections
- Fighting free radicals
Do Honeyberries Taste the Same After Freezing and Refreezing?
After freezing and refreezing, honeyberries will not taste the same. The texture of a thawed honeyberry will be mushy, resulting in a worse flavor.
Honeyberries contain water. When you freeze them, resulting ice crystals break the cellular structure of the fruit. As a result, the fruit is then mushy.
As you warm up the honeyberries, a lot of the juice leaks out, and you’re left with less flavor and less nutritional value.
However, if you buy frozen honeyberries, they will probably taste good, because companies flash freeze the product, so it doesn’t turn to mush when you take it home.
Thus, it’s not recommended to freeze honeyberries. However, if you want to make use of them later, you can keep them in the freezer for many months to come. It’s better to worsen their flavor than to let them go off.
Are Honeyberries Good for Cooking?
Because of their tasty flavor, and high nutritional value, berries are great for baking, snack-making, and jam-making.
Here are examples of things that you can make with honeyberries.
- Ice-cream
- Froze mini-pops
- Honeyberry coffee cake
- Honeyberry milkshake
- Honeyberry peach pan dowdy
- Jam & Jelly
- Honeyberry Pie
- Pancakes
- Muffins
You can find hundreds of recipes online. You can also add them to yogurts, cereals, waffles, etc.
How to Care for Honeyberries to Maximize Their Taste?
If you buy honeyberries in the store, there’s nothing you can do with their flavor. However, if you plant honeyberries, you can maximize their taste with proper care.
1. Plant honeyberries in spring. They prefer moderate or cooler climates (USDA 2-7 zones).
2. Choose a sunny location with well-draining soil.
3. Plant multiple honeyberry plants to cross-pollinate.
4. Water your plants when the soil appears dry, but avoid overwatering, as honeyberries don’t like to feel too wet.
5. Prune and deadhead branches just after the fruit has been harvested to promote new growth.
6. Fertilize once yearly, for example with this fertilizer from Amazon.
7. Spread mulch over the soil over your plant’s roots to protect them from frost during the winter months.
Conclusion
Honeyberries taste sour-sweet, but are rather sweet and taste like the connection of raspberry, blueberry, and cherry. They have a chewy texture and have many health benefits. Moreover, they’re great for cooking, and winemaking.
Sources
gardeningknowhow.com, svz.com, lovehoneyberry.com, quora.com, honeyberryusa.com, lymanorchards.com, masterclass.com
