Callicarpa americana
In the fall, I would always notice these strange purple berries growing the in woods along Vintage Preserve Pkwy (off Hwy 249) on my drive home from work. I couldn't figure out what they were until one day, Green Dean did a YouTube video featuring these berries.
I took a little field trip out there one weekend, and collected a couple gallon-sized bags of berries. I used the jelly recipe on Green Dean's website, and tried a few right off the bush just to taste them. They didn't really taste like anything at all, which was kind of disappointing, considering how bold the berries look.
Unfortunately, the jelly had almost no flavor at all. Beautiful color, but no real flavor to speak of. It was an interesting experiment, but I don't think I'll be making the jelly again.
An amusing side note, once I knew what they were I saw them everywhere. I was at RCW Nursery recently, and they had them priced at $24.99 each. $24.99 for a plant you could go down the road and dig up for free!
I took a little field trip out there one weekend, and collected a couple gallon-sized bags of berries. I used the jelly recipe on Green Dean's website, and tried a few right off the bush just to taste them. They didn't really taste like anything at all, which was kind of disappointing, considering how bold the berries look.
Unfortunately, the jelly had almost no flavor at all. Beautiful color, but no real flavor to speak of. It was an interesting experiment, but I don't think I'll be making the jelly again.
An amusing side note, once I knew what they were I saw them everywhere. I was at RCW Nursery recently, and they had them priced at $24.99 each. $24.99 for a plant you could go down the road and dig up for free!
Beatyberries
Cooked berries.
Beautyberry extract.
Beuatyberry Jelly
