Follow-up to: https://www.reddit.com/r/Berries/comments/1uz5y2y/hararaspraspbearyraspberrytower/

Today I've picked that single berry and given it a taste test. I was preparing myself for some mild disappointment from what I've heard. But it actually turned out pretty nice and unique.

The berry looked absolutely beautiful, shiny, glossy wineberry red, and the spiky drupelets also swelled to start pointing more outwards. And it was pretty large and round, I think about 15- 20 mm in diameter and height.

Since it was only a single berry, I've started small. At first I tried to tear a little bit off, and while doing that I've noticed it has an unusual gelatinous consistency. It kinda felt a bit like tearing a gummy bear, and there didn't seem to be any risk of juice leakage, but not because it was dry, but because it was just... gummy. It also didn't stain at all. The first small piece I tasted was not very intense, so I went for it and put the whole thing in my mouth. Even in the mouth, the texture felt like a soft gummy bear, like it had some significant gelatin content. Seeds were there, but not very large or hard. The gummy pulp was more prominent than the seeds.

And the taste also resembled a red (strawberry-flavored?) gummy bear. It was really far more like a gummy bear than a raspberry, in both texture and flavor, only about 1/2-1/4 as intense as a real gummy bear. It was that artificial candy kind of taste. Which is really cool, and it was not bad at all. The taste is not as intense as other raspberries, but the gummy bear-like taste and texture was unlike any fruit I've ever tried. I'd say it was about 2-4/10 in sweetness, and 0-1/10 in tartness. I think I barely detected any tartness at all. I'm impressed, and I definitely do not regret getting this weird hybrid. I don't know if it is exactly the same as the ones people were disappointed in the past. Maybe they did improve it a bit with some more breeding/selecting, IDK. But I like it, and it's going to add some good new variety to my future crops.

Also, I'm not sure what exact level of ripeness it was, probably slightly underripe, when I compare the photo colors to the ones from the internet, which were a bit darker. I wonder what the flavor would develop further into if I wanted a bit more. But I guess that will only get answered next year. It might also be possible that it will be quite different, more ripe (maybe it will lose that gummy consistency for all I know...)

I wonder if the nickname RaspBEARy comes from this gummy bear resemblance...

Interesting how widely diverse the textures of Rubus species are. Idaeus is mouth-melting, blackberries are chewy juice explosions, black raspberries are crunchy and slightly juicy, tayberries were in between Idaeus and blackberries, and this one was gummy.

I know that stuff breaks down and feeds the soil, but the leaves looked really poorly by the end of harvest and I'm wondering if I should remove the dead leaves and mulch to keep it from happening again next year? Or just leave it and pull the plants I was going to to improve air flow which was a problem. You can see the plants that I haven't cut back yet and they've got browning and spotting.

If it's not a big deal yhough, I'll leave them and just add fresh mulch. I know I'm cutting back late but it's now or never.

Comments:

I made the raspberry shrub, it was excellent, but I thought too sweet. I will make it again, but next time I will cut the sugar by a 1/3rd to 1/2.

I am making a pomegranate shrub using the raspberry shrub recipe, and for this recipe I will cut the sugar by 1/2.

Questions:

Did anyone else find the raspberry shrub too sweet?, and did you make it again with less sugar?

For the pomegranate shrub, I used 700 grams of pomegranate pips, I think this may not be enough. The seeds are a high proportion of the total pip, compared to the seed/juice ratio for a raspberry. I have the feeling I didn't use enough and it may be too sour and too sweet. Does anyone have experience with pomegranate pips?, what do you think?

For the pomegranate shrub I did cut the sugar by 1/2. I'm thinking I can always add sweetness with a few splashes of simple syrup. This should work, but is the sugar necessary for flavor extraction?

Update: the pomegranate shrub was sweet enough with 1/2 the amount of sugar, 1.5 cups sugar to 700 grams of pomegranate, but the pomegranate taste was, I think, a little to subtle. The seeds are a high percentage of the pip. I'll make another batch as follows: 1000 grams pomegranate pips, 1.5 cups sugar, and 2 cups vinegar, and report back.

Comments:

I made the raspberry shrub, it was excellent, but I thought too sweet. I will make it again, but next time I will cut the sugar by a 1/3rd to 1/2.

I am making a pomegranate shrub using the raspberry shrub recipe, and for this recipe I will cut the sugar by 1/2.

Questions:

Did anyone else find the raspberry shrub too sweet?, and did you make it again with less sugar?

For the pomegranate shrub, I used 700 grams of pomegranate pips, I think this may not be enough. The seeds are a high proportion of the total pip, compared to the seed/juice ratio for a raspberry. I have the feeling I didn't use enough and it may be too sour and too sweet. Does anyone have experience with pomegranate pips?, what do you think?

For the pomegranate shrub I did cut the sugar by 1/2. I'm thinking I can always add sweetness with a few splashes of simple syrup. This should work, but is the sugar necessary for flavor extraction?

Update: the pomegranate shrub was sweet enough with 1/2 the amount of sugar, 1.5 cups sugar to 700 grams of pomegranate, but the pomegranate taste was, I think, a little to subtle. The seeds are a high percentage of the pip. I'll make another batch as follows: 1000 grams pomegranate pips, 1.5 cups sugar, and 2 cups vinegar, and report back.