18 Lesser-Known Berries You Need To Try

It's no secret that eating a variety of fresh fruits and veggies is good for you. With gut-healthy prebiotics, relatively low levels of sugar and calories, and exceptionally high levels of potassium, magnesium, vitamins C and K, and fiber, berries pack a lot of nutrition into a tiny package. Consuming berries rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins, has been linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, improved heart health, and even delayed cognitive aging. Thankfully, they're also delicious. Fruit fans everywhere clamor for peak-season strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. In the midst of this seasonal commotion, you might not realize how many berry-good varieties you're missing out on.

Some berries remain obscure because they're hard to mass produce. They may require very specific growing conditions, or have a fragile texture that makes them difficult to transport. Some are overlooked in favor of other parts of their plants, or simply confused with other types of berries. But dig a little deeper, or venture a little further, and you'll discover a whole world of berries you didn't know existed. To kick off the adventure, here are 18 lesser-known berries you need to try.

With their showy white blossoms in spring and branches full of bright red leaves in fall, the serviceberry (also known as Saskatoon berry, shad-blow, or juneberry) is a popular landscape tree across the U.S. But try some of the fruit, which turns from red to dark purple when it ripens in June, and you'll wonder why the graceful and compact tree isn't grown more often for the serviceberries themselves.

Serviceberries taste very similar to blueberries, and can be used in the same ways, like smoothies, muffins, pancakes, jams, oatmeal and cobblers. They're also delicious when eaten fresh off the tree, if you can beat your neighborhood birds to the punch, and their known health benefits rival those of other berries. Regional varieties grow wild on American public lands, and trees are probably plentiful at your local plant nursery, so if you're looking to add a little shade to your yard, consider doing so with a tree that provides tasty berries to boot.

The official state fruit of Idaho and Montana, huckleberries are a regional delicacy. In those states, it's not unusual to see huckleberries on restaurant menus or advertised on roadside fruit stand signs. They can be enjoyed fresh, and are used in everything from breakfast pastries to jams to milkshakes to pies. But outside the Pacific Northwest, where more than twelve species of huckleberry grow wild on public land, they can be hard to find.

Huckleberries are related to both blueberries and cranberries, and can be described as the perfect combination of both. The small, usually dark-blue berries have a complex sweet-tart flavor, and are a favorite food of bears. Humans can enjoy them too, though, if they're willing to traipse through the damp coastal woods in search of huckleberry bushes, which thrive in the shady underbrush of fir and pine trees.

Some have tried to cultivate huckleberries to sell them nationally, but to no avail, and the berries' short shelf life makes them hard to transport when fresh. It's possible to purchase huckleberry preserves or dried, frozen, or canned berries, but if you want to sample them at their finest, you'll need to travel to where they grow. Just make sure you're not trespassing on the huckleberry picking grounds reserved for tribal use, where indigenous people have been using the fruit for food and traditional medicine for centuries.

True to their name, kiwi berries look like kiwi fruit but smaller in size, and without the fuzzy skin most people remove before eating. Also known as hardy kiwi or touted as a superfood with the name nergi berries, just slice them open, and you'll see that they resemble their larger namesake inside as well. Pop one into your mouth whole, and enjoy all of the kiwi flavor with none of the prep work.

Kiwi berries make a tasty addition to fruit salads, and they also lend a sweet-tart flavor to savory preparations. Their adorable size, meanwhile, begs for them to be used as a cocktail garnish. Like their larger, better-known counterpart, kiwi berries boast high levels of vitamin C and other antioxidants, so they're as nutritious as they are delicious.

Vines of the kiwi berry are native to East Asia, which gives them yet another moniker — Chinese gooseberry. They were first grown commercially in New Zealand, but the plant is adaptable to different climates and it's possible to find kiwi berry farms stateside. As such, the fruit appears to be growing in popularity, with containers popping up in produce aisles around the U.S. If you see one, grab it. You won't be sorry.

You may think you've never tried elderberries, but if you've ever had a St-Germain Champagne cocktail, you've tasted the fruit's flowers. The fragrant edible blossom makes a beautiful addition to beverages and desserts. If left on the tree, those blooms become small, black berries that tempt wildlife and humans alike. Be warned, though, that elderberries must be cooked.

When raw, elderberries contain harmful toxins, but cooking removes them to unlock great medicinal properties. Elderberries are most commonly enjoyed as elderberry wine, or a sweetened syrup or tea used to relieve cold and flu symptoms. The fruit is also thought to boost the immune system, with its high levels of disease-fighting anthocyanins, flavonols, and phenolic acids. For these and other reasons, elderberries can easily be found in over-the-counter remedies like gummies or lozenges. While more studies may be needed to determine efficacy, elderberries help the medicine go down with their sweet-tart berry flavor and rich purple color.

Blackberries are so beloved around North America that cultivators have developed a variety of hybrids based on the fruit. The ongoing quest for the perfect berry has brought us pretty close, with different versions available in different parts of the U.S. To find some prime examples, look no further than California.

The boysenberry is one of the more complex hybrids inspired by the blackberry. It's a cross between a blackberry, raspberry, dewberry, and loganberry, offering attractive traits from each. It was developed in Anaheim in the 1920s and was mass-produced for about sixty years but its soft, delicate texture created problems in production and transportation. Today, they are best known for having an exceptionally high sugar content, and also for being the "berry" in California's iconic Knott's Berry Farm theme park.

In the Pacific Northwest, throughout the summer, marionberries reign supreme. The blackberry hybrid is a contemporary cross between Chehalems and Olallieberries, and the name comes from Marion County, Oregon. The fruit is still grown exclusively in the coastal state, which produces up to 33 million pounds of Marionberries each year.

While the firm texture of a Marionberry lends itself well to shipping, and the berries are grown in abundance, it can be hard to find them nationwide. Fans speculate that this is because they're so popular that few berries make it outside of Oregon. If you're willing to meet them on their home turf, you'll find Marionberries enjoyed in a number of ways, from ice cream to pie to fresh eating.

Gooseberries, currants, and jostaberries all belong to the Ribes genus, native to Europe and North America. The first grows on thorny, productive bushes in a variety of climates, and comes in a wide array of colors, from shades of pink and purple, to yellow, and even white. When we think of the American or European gooseberry, though, we probably picture it as red or green.

With their round symmetry and striped, slightly translucent skin, gooseberries are highly ornamental, but it would be a mistake to write them off as a garnish. The sweet-tart flavor of gooseberries makes a lovely dessert, and works equally well in savory dishes. Try a pork roast with gooseberries, or learn how to can gooseberries to prolong their shelf life. They'd also be tasty baked into herbed focaccia or turned into jam, and they're a popular berry to eat fresh from the shrub.

Although they're related, it's pretty easy to differentiate currants from gooseberries in the garden. The former grows on thornless shrubs in grape-like clusters, and currants are typically smaller. Their flavor is generally more tart than a gooseberry, so they are less frequently eaten fresh.

While they're not widely known in the U.S., currants are quite popular in Europe. The jewel-like redcurrants make a pretty preserve, and are frequently found as a decoration on desserts. Blackcurrants, meanwhile, are especially high in vitamin C. The tart flavor is enjoyed as jam or juice, and dried currants are great in baked goods like currant buns. In general, lighter currants, like pale pink and white, are popularly considered to be slightly sweeter than darker varieties.

With its bright rose-gold color and exceptionally high vitamin C content, the cloudberry sets itself apart from other wild berries. It's also known to be elusive. Those looking to try cloudberries must make the trek to an alpine climate (they grow in Scandinavia, Russia, Canada, and Alaska) and time the trip correctly, as they are only ready for harvest during a brief window in July through mid-August.

The flavor of cloudberries is as unique as its other characteristics, described as sweet, tart, and juicy but also slightly bitter. They can be used in both sweet and savory preparations, and tend to grow in richness as they ripen. Some like to eat them fresh, while others prefer the flavor to be slightly altered by sugar or cream. Because of how rare they are, cloudberries are typically sold in small quantities at a high price point, even close to where they grow. If you're located elsewhere, you may be able to find cloudberry jam at specialty food stores or even a bottle of lakka, a spiced cloudberry liqueur from Finland. Pour yourself a little glass, and toast to Mother Nature's bounty.

Growing wild in the bogs, swamps, and other neglected wetlands of the Southern and Eastern U.S. are bristly thickets that produce a confounding fruit. They look like blackberries but smaller, on branches that trail low to the ground instead of climbing. While dewberries are often confused with common blackberries, they're no hybrid fruit. Instead, they can be classified as a wild blackberry, an American blackberry, or simply a different species of blackberry than the one we're more familiar with.

While finding and harvesting dewberries may take some extra know-how, you'll be rewarded with a more intense, slightly more tart flavor that's delicious eaten fresh or baked into pies or muffins. They're also a recommended crop for the home gardener, especially those in states where the dewberry is native, as they'll be easy to grow and provide a tasty alternative to commercially produced blackberries. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Readily available across Scandinavia and at your local IKEA, these little red berries are commonly used to make jams and syrups. Lingonberries are similar to cranberries in flavor and appearance, but while cranberries grow in bogs around North America, lingonberries are found on low evergreen bushes in cold climates like boreal forests and tundra regions.

Lingonberries are a true superfood, full of chemical compounds known to benefit the heart, kidneys, and liver function. They're also packed with anthocyanins, dietary fiber, vitamin C, polyphenols, and omega-3 fatty acids. Don't let the tart flavor deter you from trying these tasty berries, either. While lingonberries are not commonly eaten fresh, they're delicious in jams and jellies that can be added to oatmeal or pancakes, as well as Swedish meatballs and other savory dishes. When dried, lingonberries are a great addition to granola, salads, or trail mix to take on a hike to find more lingonberries.

Why aren't mulberries more readily available on the market? The answer might be the fruit's fragile texture, which makes it difficult to transport, or the fact that its trees are more commonly grown for other purposes (as a habitat for silkworms in China and other parts of Asia, and for the leaves to feed livestock in Latin American countries). The trees adapt to a variety of climates and are quite prolific, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you like the berries and how little you like the fact that they stain everything they touch. Can you tell that this writer grew up with a large mulberry tree in her backyard?

There are many delicious types of mulberries, from the long, near-black fruit of Pakistan to white, red, and even lavender-colored berries. While the flavor can vary with the color, mulberries typically taste very similar to blackberries, juicy and sweet. They can be eaten fresh or processed to make jam, paste, candy, and even wine. Dried mulberries, which tend to be much easier to find in stores, can be added to cereals, baked goods, or trail mix, or eaten on their own as a nutritious snack.

Haskap berries are also called honeyberries for their sweet flavor (like a combination of blueberry and blackberry) and the surprising fact that they're part of the honeysuckle family. They look like misshapen, almost pear-shaped blueberries, and can be used in the same ways. They're delicious eaten fresh, made into jam, or baked into any sort of bread or pastry. But while these tasty and versatile berries are native to North America and easy to grow, they remain rare and largely unknown to American consumers.

It's hard to say why haskap berries have flown under the radar. The reason could simply be how similar they are in appearance, flavor, and nutrition to blueberries, whose massive popularity makes haskap the underdog by default. The fault may also lie in the haskap's thin skin, which shortens its shelf life and makes it difficult to transport. If given the chance, though, honeyberries may someday give blueberries a run for their money.

A superfood native to China, bright red goji berries boast an exceptionally high antioxidant content. They can be consumed fresh, when their unique flavor has a slightly savory note, like a cherry crossed with a tomato, but they're more commonly eaten dried. In that state, they retain much of their vibrant color and their chewy-crunchy texture makes them a delightful addition to granola, oatmeal, smoothies, or baked goods.

Since goji berries reached a level of international fame for their superfood status, studies have been conducted to further examine the claim. While the health benefits of goji berries may be exaggerated, there are plenty of reasons for the berry-curious to try this sweet-tart fruit. They taste good, they look good, and berries in general are known to be among the most nutrient-dense foods we can eat. Goji berry shrubs are also easy to grow, so don't be surprised if their global popularity continues to grow.

Dating all the way back to the 1880s, the Santa Cruz-born loganberry is a super juicy blackberry-raspberry hybrid that was accidentally developed by James Harvey Logan (hence the name) to combine the best of both worlds. It's an especially juicy berry that bursts with rich, tart flavor, and it looks very similar to a blackberry but is instead bright red.

Loganberries are a popular choice for the impatient home gardener, as the fruit ripens in July and August, versus fall-harvested varieties of blackberries and raspberries. Those interested in growing them should be warned, though, that loganberry brambles are typically fast growers and very thorny, making them difficult to harvest by hand. This is likely why they're rarely found sold in stores.

Americans are not the only ones with a love of blackberry hybrids. Across the pond, the tayberry is named for the Tay River in Scotland, where it was born. It's a blackberry-raspberry hybrid closely related to the loganberry, and it was actually created to be a bigger, better version of the fruit. The question of whether or not it succeeds is subjective, of course — but, regardless of which team you're on, you'll likely agree that tayberries are delicious.

In Scottish cuisine, tayberries are eaten both fresh and processed. They're a popular choice for preserves, breakfast pastries, and summer pies. The plants are also quite hardy and easy to grow, so they're often found in gardens around the country.

Cross a currant with a gooseberry and you've got a jostaberry, a hybrid fruit that's the size of a gooseberry, with the dark color of a blackcurrant. Unlike gooseberries, jostaberry shrubs don't have thorns. Like their siblings, these berries are prized for their flavor, nutrition, and beautiful, bubble-like texture that pops slightly when you bite. 

Along with other Ribes, jostaberries can be hard to find in U.S. grocery stores because of historical agricultural restrictions put in place to combat diseases harmful to other vegetation. But those restrictions have been lifted in recent years, so in the summer, keep an eye out at your local farmers market. You might just get lucky.

Miracle fruit, or miracle berries, grow in tropical climates and are native to West Africa. They are red drupe berries that look like elongated cranberries, and they grow on small, dense trees. They're difficult to track down outside where they're grown, and once you do get your hands on a miracle berry, you might be surprised to find that it doesn't taste like much of anything. But the effort is worth it for the unusual dining experience these strange berries offer.

Unlike berries eaten for their delicious flavor or health benefits or both, miracle berries are enjoyed for the startling effect they have on human taste buds. Eating a miracle berry can temporarily alter one's taste perception, turning ordinarily sour flavors sweet. It makes for a fun experiment: Eat a miracle berry, then bite into a wedge of lemon, and prepare to be amazed. It's definitely one of the lesser-known berries you need to try.