Boysenberries bouncing back

Picking plump, sun-sweetened berries straight from the vine has been a taste of summer for decades.

By the time you read this, the boysenberries on the vines Mark Pope tends will have turned the deep purple-black hue that signals they are ready to pick.

Once the fruit ripens, Pope and his workers will barely have enough time to catch their breath until the last berries are picked at the end of its short, intense six-week season.

It doesn't leave much, if any, time for a Christmas break.

But neither Pope, who runs Tasberry Fruits with wife Helena, nor his "lackey" Amod Swami, a hospitality worker embarking on his first berry season, are complaining.

With berry growing in his blood - his parents, jam king and queen Owen and Kaye Pope, make Pope Jam and started the legendary Anathoth range, now owned by Barkers - Pope is happiest when working on the land.

Last week, Pope, who leases his crops on properties at Mahana with stunning backdrops of the Arthur Range, predicted that his first crop of boysenberries would be ready in the next week.

The pick-your-own places on the Waimea Plains The Nelson Mail spoke with should also be open, or about to open, with owners pleased with how the fruit is looking this year.

All this is good news for Nelsonians, who in the early summer head to berry farms in their hundreds to buy or pick fresh berries.

While the origin of boysenberries is a bit of an urban legend, Pope says they are believed to be a cross between a loganberry and a blackberry.

Berryfruit Export New Zealand's website says the fruit is thought to have been developed by a Swedish immigrant to California, Rudolf Boysen, whose name was bestowed on it. His vines were propagated further and grown by legendary berry grower Walter Knott at Knott's Berry Farm in California.

The fruit arrived in New Zealand in the late 1930s, and by 1948 was well established in the Nelson region. The sunny climate means it is still one of the main areas in the country where the fruit is grown.

Pope says that 25 years ago, the region used to have more growers, with smaller, hobby-sized patches.

"The ladies who pick my crop used to pick a crop on the neighbour's land 20 years ago," he says, pointing through the windbreak to land that is now rolling pasture.

While some of the smaller fields have gone, Pope believes there has been something of a renaissance in the industry, with more boysenberry plants being put in.

He puts the upswing down to a growth in demand for the berries due to their health benefits - "They are packed with anti-oxidants" - and the fact that New Zealand has cracked more markets overseas.

The vines he leases are 20 to 30 years old, and he grows about 80 to 100 tonnes a year, of which 40 to 50 tonnes will be exported.

Boysenberries don't travel well fresh, as they have to be picked when ripe, and Pope hopes to sell more of them on the local market this year, with plans to sell them at the Nelson Market, at Raeward Fresh in Richmond, and at a roadside stall in Kelling Rd, Mahana.

Swami, who has worked in hospitality for 16 years and still works at Harry's Bar on Friday and Saturday nights, says he is loving his time working on the land.

He studied horticulture at Christchurch Polytechnic in the early 1990s and is enjoying putting those skills to use.

"(Pope) is amazing. He just knows how to grow things. This was probably meant to be a month's soiree, but I've been here seven or eight months."

Berryfruit Export NZ manager John Molyneux says the boysenberry industry has grown "substantially" over the past two years as a result of existing growers putting in more plants, with the growth spearheaded by demand for the berries for use in juice and smoothies.

He says 3300 to 3500 tonnes are grown here each year, by 25 to 28 growers. Of that, 2500 to 2800 tonnes is exported to a diverse range of countries, including Australia, the United States, Britain, the Middle East, Europe, Japan and Scandinavia.

Considered a "superfood", boysenberries are high in dietary fibre, are a natural source of vitamins and minerals, and have a negligible fat content.

Molyneux says that like most dark-coloured fruit, they are also high in phytochemicals, a scientific buzzword which basically means they promote health and prevent chronic disease.

However, he says the most important selling point of the fruit is that they look good and taste great raw.

BEST FOR BERRIES

A rough guide to the berry season:
Strawberries - early-November to March/April, peaking November to December.
Raspberries - late November to end of January, although late varieties can go to end of March.
Boysenberries - mid-December to mid-January.

The following recipes are from Helena Pope's kitchen. She says they are the most requested recipes in her household and among her friends and neighbours.

FRESH BERRY ICECREAM

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 egg
½ cup caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh boysenberries or raspberries, or a mixture of both

Method

Blend together all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth and the sugar has dissolved.

Put in refrigerator until chilled, usually for about two hours. Stir before adding to ice cream maker.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions, and blending until the desired thickness is achieved.

The ice cream is best eaten immediately but can be frozen.

BERRY TARTS

Ingredients

½ cup caster sugar
¼ cup cornflour
2 cups tightly packed raspberries or boysenberries
½ cup water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Extra berries for garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.

Cut rolled puff or butter-crust pastry into rounds large enough to fit into buttered muffin pans.

Place a large sheet of baking paper over the pastry cases in the pan, pushing the paper gently into the holes and filling with dry rice.

Bake blind for 15 minutes, then carefully remove paper and rice and bake for another four minutes or until pastry is dry and golden. If pastry puffs up at this stage, press back gently with a paper towel. Cool.

Blend berries in a food processor. If desired, remove seeds using a sieve. Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil on a medium or low heat, stirring constantly.

Simmer until thick, then remove from heat. Fill cooled pastry cases with berry mixture. Cool, then top with berries and/or a sprinkling of icing sugar.

BOYSENBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients

2 eggs
3 cups flour
1¼ cups milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
1½ cups brown sugar
2 cups boysenberries, cut into thirds
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice

Method

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan.

Whisk eggs, sugar, milk and butter. Sift flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the boysenberries to the egg mixture, stirring to combine, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into muffin pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in pans for five minutes, then turn on to a wire rack. These are nicest eaten while still warm.

- © Fairfax NZ News