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

Processing of blackberries

More than 80% of the US production of blackberries in recent years has come from the Pacific Coast. The major blackberry-producing areas are Washington and Oregon. Blackberries grow on 2-yr old brambles or canes. Blackberries are very suitable for jam, marmalade and jelly as well as compote, sorbet, ice cream and parfait.

At the processing plant, the fruit is washed, inspected – to remove leaves, twigs, etc., and cooled to 32F. The fruit is held at this temperature until sold as fresh in retail sized baskets overwrapped with clear plastic or until it is processed.

Blackberries are harvested after ripening but before they have become soft and mushy. It is very unwise to allow the berries to become overripe, because they are then very susceptible to mold.

Blackberries should be thoroughly ripe when picked for freezing: otherwise they may turn red on freezing. The fruit is individually frozen in a cold air tunnel and packed in large metal cans with cap-type covers and held frozen. When the berries are to be used for producing jam and jelly, sugar is added to the cans so that the ratio of fruit to sugar is 5:1.

For producing jam, frozen fruit from cans is defrosted. The amount of sugar added results in a fruit to sugar ratio of 1:1. The pectin must be dispersed in the water before added to the mix. Water evaporated during the heating results in soluble solids content of 68%.

Blackberry jelly is produced by a similar process except that only clear juice is used, the amount of pectin is doubled, the soluble solids contents 65%, and the PH is adjusted to 2.9 – 3.2. Some blackberries are canned and heat-processed in water or light syrup for use as pie filling or in syrup for use in other desserts.
Processing of blackberries

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