5 Rare American Berries Worth Trying If You Can Find Them

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Adding more fruits and vegetables to your daily diet can sometimes feel challenging. Simple fruit salads are one refreshing option, but sometimes your tastes lean more adventurous. While you might think you've had just about every type of berry imaginable, there are still some rare American berries worth trying if you're able to locate them. Kiwi berries, boysenberries, lingonberries, white raspberries, and gooseberries each have their merits and can make a delightful addition to your regular rotation. Though slightly more difficult to find, a quick trip to your local specialty market or grocery store can yield delicious results.

What makes these five berries unique is their flavor, size, and presentation. While some, like the white raspberry or kiwi berry, are variations of familiar fruits, others, such as the boysenberry, are harder-to-find local hybrids. Lingonberries and gooseberries are quite popular in other parts of the world, but, in the U.S., are usually only available from international markets. While the task can seem daunting, all of these berries are well worth the search. Even if you pick one of the following to seek out, it will be fun to taste a fruit that's new to you. Between jams, pies, fruit salads, tarts, and more, there is so much you can do with these tasty and nutrient-rich berries.

Resemblant of their full-sized counterparts, kiwi berries are one of the popular types of kiwi fruit. Native to areas of Asia including Korea, Japan, Siberia, and central China, these fruits tend to thrive in cooler weather. In the United States, the berries are grown in regions with similarly cool climates such as New England and the Pacific Northwest. Kiwi berries are known for being rich in nutrients, including vitamins E and C as well as potassium, fiber, and folic acid. The bite-sized berries are often more dense in texture than a larger kiwi fruit and have a combination of both sweet and tart flavors. 

Available only briefly in stores around the fall season, there are a number of different ways to enjoy the rare berries. Look for kiwi berries in grocery or specialty stores in your area around the time that they are in season. The fruits are best enjoyed when ripe and, unlike a standard fuzzy kiwi fruit, can be consumed with the skin on. It's simple enough to nosh on a small handful as you would with a bunch of grapes for a healthy and wholesome snack. Preparing them in a pie, making your own berry jam, or even mixing them into your favorite fruit salad recipe are all excellent uses for this special fruit.

Knott's Berry Farm is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about boysenberries. Though it might seem like these rare berries are a unique entity, boysenberries are, in fact, a hybrid of three different berries including the red raspberry, blackberry, and loganberry. The fruits originated in Northern California in the 1920s and are considered a California staple known for bearing a deep purple color and a shape similar to a blackberry with a flavor that closely resembles both the tastes of a raspberry and blackberry. The juicy fruits are celebrated annually at Knott's Berry Farm's Boysenberry Festival, featuring a number of boysenberry-based dishes.

A midsummer seasonal berry, the fruits are not often available in grocery stores because they are so fragile. You can order frozen boysenberries online or even purchase live boysenberry plants to grow and harvest your own at home. The best uses for these delicate berries are as jams or preserves. Additionally, you can use the berries to prepare a delectable pie filling or a tangy punch. Take a cue from these 15 boysenberry treats worth trying at Knott's Berry Farm to determine how best to use these rare berries should you be able to locate them. The great taste and versatility will surely level up your cooking and baking.

If boysenberries are synonymous with Knott's Berry Farm, then lingonberries are practically synonymous with retail giant, Ikea. These tiny red berries are most popular in Scandinavian regions and are characterized by a tart and somewhat sweet flavor. Known by a number of different names, the word "lingon" is a Swedish term for "heather" derived from a Norse lexicon. The berries are especially rich in antioxidants and the vitamins C, E, and A. Lingonberries can be difficult to find, as the crops are not commonly grown in the U.S, with some exceptions for parts of the northern region.

Cranberries are often used in place of lingonberries for their similarity in taste, texture, and appearance; however, it is still possible to locate lingonberries in a few different forms. If you are a dedicated Ikea shopper, grabbing a jar of Sylt Lingon Lingonberry Jam is an excellent way to enjoy this rare fruit. Additionally, you can order frozen lingonberries online and use them in a number of different recipes. Try making your own lingonberry jam, tarts, cakes, or even a tangy sauce with which to dress a batch of Swedish-style meatballs. The combination of tart and sweet tastes will open up plenty of new possibilities in the realm of berry-forward foods.

Raspberries come in a number of different colors, with subtle differences in taste and texture among them. While the red raspberry is one of the more popular varieties, white raspberries are a particularly rare and interesting version. With a white to pale yellow appearance, these berries look like the desaturated cousin of a bold red raspberry. White raspberries are known to have a sweetly aromatic flavor, and both white and golden raspberries taste more floral then their red counterparts. Though the berries can be more difficult to find, you might just spot them in your grocery store's produce section between the months of May and October.

If you are able to locate them, you can effectively use white raspberries in place of any other variety of raspberries in your favorite recipes. Consider trying white raspberry white chocolate chip cookies, pies, tarts, and other sweet treats. You can also add a handful of white raspberries to your favorite fruit salad or even a savory green salad with an herb-rich vinaigrette. Remember that, although their color is not as vibrant as that of other varieties, you can use this to your advantage by creating dishes that lean into the white raspberry's distinctive aesthetics.

With a fun name and an equally adorable appearance, gooseberries share a family with currants and can be found in both Europe and America (though they were once banned in the U.S. for carrying a fungal disease that killed native white pine trees). The ban has since been lifted, but they are still more popular in Europe, despite the berries having origins in North America, North Africa, and Eurasia. Gooseberries come in a variety of colors including green, red, pink, purple, and yellow. Like lingonberries, they are naturally tart and have a variety of culinary applications. 

Gooseberries can be eaten raw, but due to their sour flavor, are more preferable when prepared in jams or desserts. One of the most common uses for gooseberries is in a popular British dessert known as a fruit fool, which includes sugar, yogurt or custard, cream, and vanilla extract. Gooseberry pie is another simple dessert that makes use of the fresh berries and a double pie crust. Gooseberries are typically in season during the summertime and make an excellent addition to your favorite sweet recipes. If you can find the berries, be sure to cut the "tops and tails" off of each fruit first before cooking with them to ensure proper taste and texture.