Boysenberry

Get to know it

Boysenberries are large, deep-maroon berries with soft flesh, noticeable seeds and a sweet-tart flavour. They grow on long trailing canes and have both raspberry and blackberry ancestry. In New Zealand, which grows more than half the world’s crop, boysenberry is the most popular fruit ice-cream flavour.

What it is

A boysenberry is large and deep maroon, with thin skin and a soft bite. The seeds are large enough to notice, and the flavour brings sweetness and tartness together.

For fresh eating, plump, firm berries with a shine are good picks; bruised or leaking fruit is best left behind. Keep them refrigerated and wash them just before eating.

Where it comes from

The name honours Rudolph Boysen, who grew the first vines on his farm in Northern California. Walter Knott propagated Boysen’s plants, and in 1935 boysenberries were sold for the first time at Knott’s farm stand.

Boysenberries reached New Zealand around 1937. Today Nelson, at the top of the South Island, grows more than half the world’s crop. Oregon is the leading producer in the United States.

How it's eaten where it grows

In New Zealand, boysenberry is the most popular fruit ice-cream flavour, and the fruit also goes into yoghurt, jam, drinks and pies. A simple no-churn ice cream folds the berries, condensed milk and vanilla into whipped cream before freezing, and the sweet-tart fruit suits the sweet dairy.

In California, Knott’s Berry Farm holds an annual Boysenberry Festival, using its namesake fruit in savoury dishes as well as desserts and drinks.

How it's grown

Boysenberries need a trellis to hold their trailing canes. The canes bear fruit in their second year. Near Nelson, the Sutton family grows Tasman, Mapua and Riwaka, whose slightly different ripening times spread the work through the harvest month.

At their Eden’s Road Fruit orchard, the harvesters start at four in the morning, weather permitting, and shake the soft berries from the canes.

When and where you'll find it

Oregon’s boysenberry harvest is usually in July. In summer, Oregon farms such as Hoffman Farms near Beaverton grow them for pick-your-own and sell them in their farm stores.

At Wai-West in Nelson, New Zealand, harvest usually runs from mid-December to mid-January, with up to seven passes through the crop. Wai-West freezes its fruit in blocks or as single berries, or turns it into concentrate.

Sources · 9

Get it near Detroit

What it tastes like

As mild as a peach, crisper than a blueberry≈

Not sweetlemonbananaSweet

MildbananaapplelemonSour

SoftbananaappleCrisp

More about the taste

Boysenberries are sweet and tart — a contrast that plays well against condensed milk in ice cream.

Choose, store, eat

1ChoosePlump, firm
Look for
Plump, firm
Look for plump, firm berries and pass over bruised or leaking fruit. Wash only just before use.
2StoreFridge, berries
1. FridgeBerriesOriginal package
Keep the berries refrigerated in their original package, removing damaged fruit, and wash only just before use.
3EatWhole berries
Eat
Whole berries
Rinse under running water, drain and pat dry. Use whole berries in yogurt mixtures, pies and jam.

More tips

Worth knowing

A fresh berry's picking stage and handling matter alongside its name. Ask when it was picked and whether the crop was meant for fresh sale or processing.

Detroit, Michigan

When it’s good here

Grown here

Ships from other states

12 growing areas, 3 countries

British Columbia
California
Florida
Georgia
Tasman
You

Grows hereOther monthsYou

0 of 1 areas · October

Growing areas by country

United States10
Canada1
New Zealand1

Knott’s Berry Farm in California popularized the boysenberry.
California food history

4 varieties

Cook it

Recipes 2

1 Boysenberry festival

Knott's Boysenberry FestivalMar–AprBuena Park, California, United States · Organiser ↗Mar–Apr

Festivals this month →

Strange but true

If you like Boysenberry

Tastes alike

Cashew applealso juicy and aromatic

Close relatives

Sources

Boysenberry · Fruitopia · checked Sep 22, 2026