Characteristics of blackberry

Rubus fruticosus L. (Rosaceae) is a shrub famous for its fruit, called blackberry, which is traded globally due to its delicious taste, pleasant flavor and nutritional profile. The shrub is believed to have its origin in Armenia, and is now distributed throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania and North and South America.

Blackberries planted and commercially cultivated worldwide. Blackberry fruits are eaten fresh or processed. The common primary products from processing are individually quick frozen, canned, pureed, juice and freeze dried fruit.

Blackberries are red to hard brown-red; are hard when they are immature; and turn black, shiny and soft when they ripen. Blackberry contains several phytochemicals, including anthocyanins, which are responsible for their dark color.

The ripe fruit is soft and juicy and has a very dark-purplish color with a smooth, fragile skin. Blackberries contain about 14% solids, which are approximately equally divided between soluble and insoluble forms. The size of the pyrene and the relative development of the surrounding soft tissues influence the proportion of soluble to insoluble solids.

Blackberry fruits have the best quality and also the best taste when they are fully mature. Based on color alone, it is difficult to determine the optimal picking time.

Because eating quality does not improve after harvest, blackberries should be harvested at the shiny black stage, when fruit attains a glossy fully black color, appears and feels turgid and is easily detached from the plant. Blackberry fruits are very delicate, so they should be picked in the cold part of the day and then immediately stored in a refrigerator.

Fruit from trailing blackberries tend to give an excellent, aromatic flavor, with less noticeable seeds than many eastern North American and European species. Flavor is determined by the content of sugars, acids, and volatiles, all of which vary with cultivar and growing conditions.

Blackberries are packed with vitamin C. Just one cup of raw blackberries has 30.2 milligrams of vitamin C. They're also high in fiber.

Blackberry phenolic compounds have protective effects on age-related neurodegenerative diseases and bone loss in vivo and can inhibit low-density lipoprotein and liposomal oxidation in vitro.
Characteristics of blackberry

Genus Vitis of grapes

Grapes are the fruit of the woody vines of the genus Vitis.  They are classified as berries and they grow in clusters of as few as 6 to many as 300 berries.

Vitis vinifera L. grows best in a Mediterranean type of climate with long, relatively dry summers and mild winters.

These conditions are restricted to areas in geographical belts generally between the 30th parallel and 45th parallel of the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Grapes are highly perishable in nature. Therefore, they cannot be stored for long periods or transported long distances at ambient temperature.

The storage of grapes at room temperature result in loss of weight, berry drop and rotting of berries, resulting in heavy loss to the producer.

The color of grapes can be black, blue, golden, green, purple, red or white, while the flavors range from fruity to spicy to muscat, depending upon variety.

Grapes are a valuable source of numerous phytonutrients and many studies have suggested cardiovascular benefits, while some work has indicated cancer chemopreventive activity.

Grapes are a versatile fruit. They are enjoyed fresh and processed into a number of popular products such as wines, raisins, juices, jellies, canned grapes and frozen grapes.

However, a significant part of grape is marketed annually as fresh fruit, making table grapes one of the world’s prominent fresh-fruit crops.
Genus Vitis of grapes

Fruit of blackberries

Blackberries grow best in temperate climates.  The fruit of bramble belonging to the same family as the raspberry and the strawberry, blackberries gore in gardens, fields and woods, climbing over walls and any obstacles in the path.

The two types of blackberries: erect and trailing. The erect type has strong, upright canes are usually thorny and don’t require support.

Trailing blackberries also called dewberries, ground blackberries, or running blackberries have canes that are not self-supporting; the canes must be tied to poles or trellises in cultivation.

The blackberry is grown in North America, Europe, the British Isles and Australia. They are usually thorny shrubs that produce clusters of delicate whitish or pinkish flowers. More than a thousand varieties of blackberries have been identified, most of which grow wild.

Blackberries are harvest after ripening, but before they have become soft and mushy.

Firm, ripe blackberries bring the highest market price. Berries that are picked at the proper tie, handled carefully and stored in a cool place will stay in good condition for several days.

Berries that are overripe or injured spoil quickly.
Fruit of blackberries

Ribes hirtellum

Ribes hirtellum is the most important species of edible American gooseberry.

As the plant has a wide range , the berries were a favorite fruit of the squaws of many of Indian tribes. Ribes hirtellum is a native to North America.

Most cultivated gooseberry in North America are hybrids between Ribes grossularia and Ribes hirtellum.

Gooseberry are picked slightly underripe for cooking in jams, pies and a classic dish, Industry cultivars are excellent eaten fresh. Unripe gooseberry are excellent for cooking, especially sauces.  
Ribes hirtellum

Ancient Blueberries

This berry has several names – whortleberry, bilberry, hurtleberry and cousins – saskatoons and huckleberry.

Many botanists believe a blueberry antecedent could be the most ancient living thing on earth, stepping up to the cereal bowl at the whopping 13,00 years old.

Primitive man was a hunter and a collector and one of the things they liked collecting were berries.

Blueberries being chock full of antioxidants and nutrients, were a chief sources of nutrition for many ancient civilizations.

During the times of the Greeks and Romans, blueberry relatives were an important part of the daily diet.

The harvest time of blueberries since ancient times has been a time of celebration. Indian in North America have gathered the fruit for centuries an still continues considerably to the harvest. It was them who introduced the practice of burning to control encroaching shrubs, trees and other unwanted ‘weeds’ and to kill the pests and diseases that invade the blueberry patches.

The Indians who lived on the sores of what is now called Lake Huron mixed powdered, dried berries with water, cornmeal and wild honey to make pudding, reported by observer and explorer in the early 17th century.   
Ancient Blueberries