5 Berries You've Never Heard Of

1. Kousa Dogwood Berries
   

The Kousa Dogwood is a tree the gives life to the Kousa Dogwood berry. The inside is soft and creamy with the taste of papaya but the skin has a slight bitter taste to it. For this reason people often bite the fruit and suck the pulp out and spit out the skin. This berry is native to China, Korea, and Japan and is eaten raw and made into wine. Each fruit has 2 or 3 raisin sized seeds inside that need to be spit out, this can be a deterrent for some people to consume them along with the weird rough outer casing texture.

1. Salmonberry
   The salmonberry is a raspberry looking berry with a lighter color. The berry starts off yellow then turns a light red when ripe, they taste like a mix of a mild raspberry and blackberry. For this reason they’ll usually be found on the side of rivers and creeks. They are a rich source of vitamin c and k and are high in manganese. The salmonberry is not ideal for eating but better for making into jams, juice and wine. Most berry bushes have multiple uses, with the salmonberry the bark and leaves of the bush can be used to treat burns. The names comes from an old Native tradition of putting one of the berries in every salmon’s mouth caught for good luck.

2. Pineberry
   
   This white looking strawberry has a reputation for tasting and or smelling like pineapple plus strawberries. The flavor is a more tart, tropical tasting strawberry with a more muted flavor. They are native to Chile and available in early summer if you can find them. The pineberry can be eaten fresh or served usually with desserts like ice cream, cake and mixed in drinks. They are a partially self pollinating plant that are high in antioxidants, vitamin a and they boost the immune system.