Health Benefits And Side Effects

Berries are a delight every summer, all over the world. While most grow naturally and are found in the wild, there are also a few hybrid varieties developed meticulously by crossbreeding over the years. Boysenberry is one such hybrid berry that’s usually found freshly harvested in your nearby farmer’s market. Rich in vitamins and antioxidants, boysenberries help improve your health in several ways. Read on to know about their nutrient facts, health benefits, flavor profile, and various ways to include them in your diet.

What Is Boysenberry?

Boysenberry fruit is a large, juicy, dark purple berry that looks like a cluster of small grapes. It is a hybrid fruit developed by cross-breeding loganberry, dewberry, raspberry, and blackberry by Rudolph Boysen in Anaheim, California, in the 1920s. These berries are soft and fragile and don’t transport well. These also tend to get spoiled very quickly, so need to be harvested and consumed soon. With their somewhat sweet yet tangy taste, you can enjoy them fresh as a healthy snack or turn them into delectable jams, jellies, sauces, syrups, and pie fillings.

Let’s take a deeper look at its nutrient content in the next section.

Nutritional Information

According to the USDA, one cup of frozen, unthawed boysenberries contains the following nutrients (1).

Boysenberries are a good source of vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and dietary fiber. It also contains vital B vitamins and folate that play an important role in cellular mechanisms and brain development. Additionally, a cup of berries has about 200 mg of potassium and just 1.3 mg of sodium which is essentially good for your cardiovascular health.

Further ahead in the article, we understand how these nutrients translate into some important health benefits for you.

Potential Health Benefits Of Boysenberry

• May Help Promote Lung Health

 The polyphenols and antioxidants in boysenberry may have a positive effect on lung health. Research states that regular consumption of boysenberry juice might help moderate chronic lung fibrosis in asthma and other chronic pulmonary conditions (2). A recent study in 2021 also suggests that drinking boysenberry and apple juice concentrate might help reduce lung inflammation and tissue damage (3).

• May Help Support Your Heart Health

Boysenberries are rich in anti-inflammatory polyphenols that may help reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease (4). A few animal studies suggest that consumption of boysenberry juice might help lower blood pressure and serum triglyceride levels significantly (5), (6). Another study suggested that boysenberry juice can help maintain the thickness of endothelial cell walls, thereby enabling normal blood flow and pressure (7).

Boysenberry is also packed with anthocyanins, the pigmented flavonoids with antioxidant properties that give them their rich vibrant color.

Research has shown that anthocyanins might help prevent neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases associated with oxidative stress (8). These flavonoids may also help strengthen your vision and help reduce the risks of cancer (9).

As per another study, boysenberry seed oil was reported to have the strongest oxygen radical absorbance capacity compared to blueberry, red raspberry, and marionberry seed oils (10).

• May Help Improve Your Bone Health

Boysenberries contain important vitamins and minerals that help support bone health. One cup of frozen boysenberries contains about 36 mg of both calcium and phosphorus. It also has a good amount of vitamin K and manganese, which are vital for bone metabolism (11). The deficiency of these vitamins and minerals could lead to an increased risk of developing osteoporosis (12), (13).

• May Help Boost Your Immunity

Like most berries, boysenberries are a rich source of immune-boosting vitamin C. One cup of boysenberries contains more than 4 mg of vitamin C which helps fight infections and strengthen your immune system (14).

Now, with the above boysenberry benefits, you might be keen to include them in your diet and wonder what they taste like. If you find blackberries bitter for your taste, you may actually like the sweet and bold flavor of boysenberries. With their bigger size, they are also quicker to harvest and easier to incorporate into various dishes. Let’s see next what you can make with these clustered berries.

How To Add Boysenberry To Your Diet

Boysenberries are most often seen in the nearest farmers markets around May or early June all through the summers. Boysenberries are typically not found in grocery stores or supermarkets as they are thin-skinned and fragile to transport. These berries don’t last long and should ideally be processed into jams and jellies as soon as harvested.

Boysenberries may last around a week in the fridge, or you can choose to freeze them for later use. The best way to freeze them is to line them out on a baking sheet with enough space in between two berries. Once completely frozen, you can transfer them into a freezer-safe sealed container suitable for long-term storage.

Boysenberries are a balanced mix of sweet raspberries and tart blackberries in taste. A few common ways to include boysenberries in your diet are as follows:

• Bake them into a variety of cakes, pies, and crumbles.
• Blend them into smoothies or add them to a fruit salad.
• Add them to your favorite desserts such as crisps, cobblers, and cakes.
• Make them into jams, jellies, and syrups.
• Add them as a topping or flavoring in ice cream, yogurts, and cheesecakes.
• Make them into syrups and drizzle over pancakes or waffles.
• Blend them into sauces that complement savory dishes like roasted pork or beef.
• Pair them with other berries, coconuts, apricots, peaches, honey, raisins, hazelnut, cinnamon, chocolate, fino sherry, and rum to enhance the flavor of any dish to your liking.

Before including boysenberries in your diet, you should be aware of its possible side effects as well.

Side Effects And Allergies

Since boysenberry is a hybrid berry, people who have prior allergies to raspberry, blackberry, loganberry, or dewberry might have a possibility of allergic reactions to boysenberries as well. They may experience mild allergic reactions like itching, swelling, or stomach discomfort after eating these berries. If you suspect any such allergic symptoms, you should discontinue eating boysenberries and consult a doctor.

Consumption of berries might increase the possibility of kidney stone formation and other renal complications due to their high potassium and oxalate content.

To Sum Up

Boysenberry is a hybrid berry rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, vital vitamins, and minerals. This makes these vibrant berries beneficial to your health in several important ways. They help reduce oxidative stress, promote cardiovascular and digestive health, and help boost your immunity as well. They have a sweet, tart, and bold taste that lends well to making smoothies, salads, jams, jellies, cakes, pies, tarts, and other baked goods.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are boysenberries so hard to find?

Boysenberries are too fragile to be transported. So they can only be found in the nearest farmers markets and not in grocery stores or supermarket chains.

Are boysenberries and blackberries the same?

No, boysenberries are a hybrid of blackberry and raspberry and other berries.

Are boysenberry and raspberry the same?

No, boysenberries are a hybrid while raspberries are not.

Sources

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Varsha holds a master’s degree in biotechnology and is a certified diet and nutrition coach. She combines her scientific knowledge… more