Aberry is a small, pulpy, and often ediblefruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have astone orpit although manypips or seeds may be present.[1] Common examples of berries in the culinary sense arestrawberries,raspberries,blueberries,blackberries,white currants,blackcurrants, andredcurrants.[2] In Britain,soft fruit is ahorticultural term for such fruits.[3][4][5]
The common usage of the term "berry" is different from the scientific orbotanical definition of a berry, which refers to afleshy fruit produced from theovary of a single flower where the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible fleshy portion (pericarp). The botanical definition includes many fruits that are not commonly known or referred to as berries,[6] such asgrapes,tomatoes,cucumbers,eggplants,bananas, andchili peppers. Fruits commonly considered berries but excluded by the botanical definition include strawberries, raspberries, andblackberries, which areaggregate fruits, andmulberries, which aremultiple fruits.Watermelons andpumpkins are giant berries that fall into the category "pepos". A plant bearing berries is said to bebacciferous orbaccate.
Berries are eaten worldwide and often used injams,preserves,cakes, orpies. Some berries are commercially important. The berry industry varies from country to country as do types of berries cultivated or growing in the wild. Some berries such as raspberries and strawberries have been bred for hundreds of years and are distinct from their wild counterparts, while other berries, such aslingonberries andcloudberries, grow almost exclusively in the wild.
While many berries are edible, some arepoisonous to humans, such as those ofdeadly nightshade andpokeweed. Others, such as thewhite mulberry,red mulberry,[7] andelderberry,[8] are poisonous whenunripe, but are edible when ripe.
Berries have been valuable as a food source for humans since before the start of agriculture, and remain a food source for otherprimates. They were a seasonal staple for earlyhunter-gatherers for thousands of years, and wild berry gathering remains a popular activity in Europe and North America today. In time, humans learned to store berries so that they could be used in the winter. They may be made intofruit preserves, and among Native Americans, mixed with meat and fats aspemmican.[9]
Berries also began to be cultivated in Europe and other countries. Some species of blackberries and raspberries of the genusRubus have been cultivated since the 17th century, while smooth-skinned blueberries and cranberries of the genusVaccinium have been cultivated in the United States for over a century.[9] In Japan, between the 10th and 18th centuries, the termsichibigo andichigo (kanji:苺;katakana:イチゴ) referred to many berry crops. The most widely cultivated berry of modern times is thestrawberry, which is produced globally at twice the amount of all other berry crops combined.[10]
The strawberry was mentioned by ancient Romans, who thought it had medicinal properties,[11] but it was then not a staple of agriculture.[12]Woodland strawberries began to be grown in French gardens in the 14th century. Themusk strawberry (F. moschata), also known as the hautbois strawberry, began to be grown in European gardens in the late 16th century. Later, theVirginia strawberry was grown in Europe and the United States.[13][when?] The most commonly consumed strawberry, thegarden strawberry (F. ananassa), is an accidental hybrid of the Virginia strawberry and a Chilean varietyFragaria chiloensis. It was first noted by a French gardener around the mid 18th century that, whenF. moschata andF. virginiana were planted in between rows ofF. chiloensis, the Chilean strawberry would bear abundant and unusually large fruits. Soon after,Antoine Nicolas Duchesne began to study thebreeding of strawberries and made several discoveries crucial to the science of plant breeding, such as the sexual reproduction of strawberry.[14] Later, in the early 1800s, English breeders of strawberry made varieties ofF. ananassa which were important in strawberry breeding in Europe,[15] and hundreds ofcultivars have since been produced through the breeding of strawberries.[12]
TheOld English wordberie ('berry, grape') comes fromProto-Germanic, variouslyreconstructed as*basją,*bazją,*basjom (source also ofOld Norse ber,Middle Dutch bere,German Beere,'berry',Old Saxon winberi,Gothic weinabasi,'grape'), which is of unknown origin. This and "apple" are the only fruit names in modern English which are descended from "native"Germanic words.[16]
Inbotanical terminology, a berry is asimple fruit withseeds and pulp produced from theovary of a single flower. It is fleshy throughout, except for the seeds. It does not have a special "line of weakness" along which it splits to release the seeds when ripe (i.e. it isindehiscent).[17] A berry may develop from an ovary with one or morecarpels (the female reproductive structures of a flower). The seeds are usually embedded in the fleshy interior of the ovary, but there are some non-fleshy examples such aspeppers, with air rather than pulp around their seeds. The differences between the everyday and botanical uses of "berry" result in three categories: those fruits that are berries under both definitions; those fruits that are botanical berries but not commonly known as berries; and those parts of plants commonly known as berries that are not botanical berries, and may not even be fruits.
Berries under both definitions includeblueberries,cranberries,lingonberries, and the fruits of many other members of theheather family, as well asgooseberries,goji berries andelderberries. The fruits of some "currants" (Ribes species), such asblackcurrants,red currants andwhite currants, are botanical berries, and are treated as horticultural berries (or as soft fruit in the UK), even though their most commonly used names do not include the word "berry".
Botanical berries not commonly known as berries includebananas,[18][19][unreliable source?]tomatoes,[1]grapes,eggplants (aubergines),persimmons,watermelons, andpumpkins.
There are several different kinds of fruits which are commonly called berries, but are not botanical berries.Blackberries,raspberries, andstrawberries are kinds ofaggregate fruit;[1] they contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. In aggregate fruits like blackberries, the individual "fruitlets" making up the fruit can be clearly seen. The fruits ofblackthorn may be called "sloe berries",[20] but botanically are smallstone fruits or drupes, likeplums orapricots.
Junipers andyews are commonly said to have berries, but these plants do not produce botanical fruits at all: they aregymnosperms, specificallyconifers, notangiosperms (flowering plants). Their "berries" are highly-modified seed-bearingcones. Injuniper berries, used to flavourgin, the cone scales, which are hard and woody in most conifers, are instead soft and fleshy when ripe. The bright red berries of yews consist of a fleshy outgrowth (aril) almost enclosing the poisonous seed. The resemblance of these plant structures to botanical berries provides a striking example ofconvergent evolution in different plantclades.
Strawberries have been grown in gardens in Europe since the 14th century.[12]Blueberries were domesticated starting in 1911, with the first commercial crop in 1916.[21]Huckleberries of all varieties are not fully domesticated, but domestication was attempted from 1994 to 2010 for the economically significantwestern huckleberry.[22][23] Many other varieties ofVaccinium are likewise not domesticated, with some being of commercial importance.
Like most other food crops, berries are commercially grown, with both conventional pest management andintegrated pest management (IPM) practices.Organically certified berries are becoming more widely available.[25]:5
Many soft fruit berries require a period of temperatures between 0 and 10 °C (32 and 50 °F) for breaking dormancy. In general,strawberries require 200–300 hours,blueberries 650–850 hours,blackberries 700 hours,raspberries 800–1700 hours,currants andgooseberries 800–1500 hours, andcranberries 2000 hours.[26] However, too low a temperature will kill the crops: blueberries do not tolerate temperatures below −29 °C (−20 °F), raspberries, depending on variety, may tolerate as low as −31 °C (−24 °F), and blackberries are injured below −20 °C (−4 °F).[26] Spring frosts are, however, much more damaging to berry crops than low winter temperatures. Sites with moderate slopes (3%–5%), facing north or east in theNorthern Hemisphere, near large bodies of water, which regulate spring temperature, are considered ideal in preventing spring frost injury to the new leaves and flowers.[26] All berry crops have shallowroot systems.[26] Many USland-grant university extension offices suggest that strawberries should not be planted more than five years on the same site, due to the danger ofblack root rot (though many other illnesses go by the same name), which in the past has been controlled in major commercial production by annualmethyl bromide fumigation[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] but which is largely prohibited now.[where?] Besides the number of years in production,soil compaction, the frequency of fumigation, and herbicide usages increase the appearance of black root rot in strawberries.[34] Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and many other berries are susceptible toverticillium wilt. Blueberries and cranberries grow poorly if the clay or silt content of the soil is more than 20%, while most other berries tolerate a wide range ofsoil types.[26] For most berry crops, the ideal soil is well drained sandyloam, witha pH of 6.2–6.8 and a moderate to high organic content; however, blueberries have an ideal pH of 4.2–4.8 and can be grown on muck soils, while blueberries and cranberries prefer poorer soils with lowercation exchange, lower calcium, and lower levels of phosphorus.[26]
Growing most berries organically requires the use of propercrop rotation, the right mix ofcover crops, and the cultivation of the correctbeneficial microorganisms in the soil.[34] As blueberries and cranberries thrive in soils that are not hospitable to most other plants, and conventional fertilizers are toxic to them, the primary concern when growing them organically is bird management.[34]
Postharvest small fruit berries are generally stored at90%–95%relative humidity and 0 °C (32 °F).[35] Cranberries, however, are frost sensitive, and should be stored at 3 °C (37 °F).[35] Blueberries are the only berries that respond toethylene, but flavor does not improve after harvest, so they require the same treatment as other berries. Removal of ethylene may reduce disease and spoilage in all berries.[35] Precooling within one to two hours post-harvest to storage temperature, generally 0 °C (32 °F), via forced air cooling increases the storage life of berries by about a third.[35] Under optimum storage conditions, raspberries and blackberries last for two to five days, strawberries 7–10 days, blueberries two to four weeks, and cranberries two to four months.[35] Berries can be shipped under high carbon dioxide ormodified atmosphere of10%–15% carbon dioxide for high carbon dioxide or15%–20% carbon dioxide and5%–10% oxygen for a modified atmosphere container to increase shelf life and preventgrey mold rot.[35]
Several discoveries in the science of breeding berries were made in the 18th century byAntoine Nicolas Duchesne in his work on strawberries.[14] In the traditional technique ofplant breeding, berries with specific desirable characteristics were chosen and allowed to sexually reproduce with other berries, and offspring with improved traits could then be selected and used for further crossing. Plants may behybridized with different species within the samegenus; hybridization between different genus may also be possible, but more difficult. Breeding may seek to increase the size and yield of the fruit, improve the flavor and quality of its nutrient content, such as antioxidants, expand the harvest season, and producecultivars with resistance to diseases, tolerance of hot or cold conditions, and other desirable traits.[36] Advancements inmolecular biology andgenetic engineering allow for a more efficient and better targeted approach in the selection for a desirablegenotype, viamarker-assisted selection, for example.[37]Genetic modification techniques can also be used for breeding berries.[36]
Some fruit not commonly referred to as berries and not always botanically berries are included by USland-grant university extension offices in their guides for berry cultivation, or in guides for identifying local wild edible and non-edible berries. Examples includebeach plums,[38]American persimmons,pawpaws,Pacific crabapples, andprickly pears.[39]
In the year 2005, there were 1.8 million acres (7,300 square kilometres) of land worldwide cultivating berries, with 6.3 millionshort tons (5.7megatonnes) produced.[25]:4[outdated statistic]
 | The examples and perspective in this sectiondeal primarily with the Western world and do not represent aworldwide view of the subject. You mayimprove this section, discuss the issue on thetalk page, or create a new section, as appropriate.(March 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In certain regions, berrypicking can be a large part of the economy, and it is becoming increasingly common forwestern European countries such as Sweden and Finland toimport cheap labor from Thailand or Bulgaria to do berry picking.[40][41] This practice has come under scrutiny in the past years because of the low wages and poor living standard for the "berry-pickers", as well as the lack of worker safety.[40]
In the late 2010s in the US, reduced migration from Mexico and Central America and increasedminimum wage standards have made finding "stoop-work" labourers to pick the strawberry crop difficult and costly.[42]
Onceripened, berries have a contrasting color to their background (often of green leaves), making them visible and attractive tofrugivorous animals and birds.[43] This assists the widedispersal of the plants' seeds.[43]
Berry colors are due to naturalphytochemicals, includingplant pigments, such asanthocyanins, together with otherflavonoids localized mainly in berryskins, seeds and leaves.[43][44][45][46] Although berry pigments haveantioxidant propertiesin vitro,[47] there is nophysiological evidence established to date that berry pigments have actual antioxidant or any other functions within the human body.[48] Consequently, it is not permitted to claim that foods containing polyphenols have antioxidant health value on product labels in the United States or Europe.[49][50]
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Berries are commonly used in pies ortarts, such asblueberry pie,blackberry pie, andstrawberry pie.
Berries are often used in baking, such as blueberry muffins, blackberry muffins,berry cobblers, berrycrisps, berry cakes, berrybuckles, berrycrumb cakes, berrytea cakes, and berry cookies.[51] Berries are commonly incorporated whole into the batter for baking, and care is often taken so as to not burst the berries. Frozen or dried berries may be preferable for some baked berry products.[52][53][54] Fresh berries are also often incorporated into baked berry desserts, sometimes withcream, either as a filling to the dessert or as a topping.[51]
Berries are often added to water and/orjuiced, as incranberry juice, which accounts for 95% of cranberry crop usage,[55]blueberry juice,raspberry juice,goji berry juice,acai juice,aronia berry juice, andstrawberry juice.[56][57]Wine is the principalalcoholic beverage made from berries (grapes).Fruit wines are commonly made out of other berries. In most cases, sugars must be added to the berry juices in the process ofchaptalization to increase the alcohol content of the wine.[citation needed]Examples of fruit wines made from berries include: elderberry wine, strawberry wine, blueberry wine, blackberry wine, redcurrant wine, huckleberry wine, goji wine and cranberry wine.[58][59][60][61] Berries are used in somestyles of beer, particularlyframboise (made with raspberry) and other fruitlambics.
Currants,raisins andsultanas are examples of dried grape berries, and many other commercially important berries are available in dried form.
Berries are perishable fruits with a short shelf life, and are often preserved bydrying,freezing,pickling or makingfruit preserves. Berries such asblackberry,blueberry,boysenberry,lingonberry,loganberry,[62]raspberry, andstrawberry are often used in jams and jellies. In the United States,Native Americans were "the first to make preserves from blueberries".[63]
Chefs have created quick pickled soft fruit, such as blackberries,[64] strawberries,[65] and blueberries.[66] Strawberries can be battered and quickly fried in adeep fryer.[67][68] Sauces made from berries, such as cranberry sauce, can be frozen until hard, battered, and deep fried.[69] Cranberry sauce is a traditional food item forThanksgiving, and similar sauces can be made from many other berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and huckleberries.[70][71][72][73][74]
Berries have been used in some cultures fordyeing. Many berries contain juices that can easily stain, affording use as a natural dye. For example, blackberries are useful for making dyes, especially when ripe berries can easily release juice to produce acolorfast effect.[75][76][77]Rubus berries, such as blackberry, raspberry,black raspberry,dewberry,loganberry, andthimbleberry all produce dye colors. These were once used by Native Americans.[77][78] In Hawaii, the nativeHawaiian raspberry calledʻĀkala was used to dyetapa cloth with lavender and pink hues, whereas berries from thedianella lily were used for blue coloration, and berries from theblack nightshade were used to produce green coloration.[79]
Berry consumption is underpreliminary research for the potential to improve nutrition and affect chronic diseases.[80] A 2016meta-analysis found that berry consumption can significantly lowerbody mass index,low density lipoprotein (LDL) andsystolic blood pressure.[81]
With a sharp decline in migration from Mexico and Central America, the primary sources of agricultural labor for half a century, "stoop work"—jobs requiring harvesters to crouch doubled over for hours a day—has become difficult to hire for. Nearly every farm I passed in Watsonville, in May and June, had a sign by the road sayingSe Solicitan Piscadores. At the same time, changing minimum-wage and overtime laws have made labor more expensive.
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