If you’re into trying new things and foreign made culinary delights, Amazon is a great place to search and find those treats. Gardners can go one step beyond and try to grow the somewhat rare berries used in those treats, especially here in North America’s zone 7. That zone covers areas such as southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and parts of lower New York.
This week, after learning about the elusive cloudberry, native to Scandanavian countries and cold weather climates, we found a trio of Hafi berry preserves.
We bought it mainly because of the cloudberries, a golden yellowish berry that grows in the damp and cold forests of Scandanavia and North America. They are so rare that only one berry grows on each plant at a time.
The Hafi package contained cloudberry, lingonberry and gooseberry preserves. They were a delightful joy to our tastebuds, but in the end, only one can be the best of the three.
First, we tried the cloudberry preserves. It was flavorful and sweet, but lived up to its reputation as being gritty and seedy. It was a unique taste of course and if not for the grittyness and earthiness could have been declared the best of the three.
The Lingonberry was next. It tasted a lot like a sweet cranberry sauce without the tartness. The consistencey was also gritty, but without the seediness of the cloudberry.
Finally, our winner in this challenge was the gooseberry. These berries can be grown very easily by home gardners here in the U.S. Well, you can also grow cloudberries, but remember, there’s only one berry per plant. It’s not a great choice for the space concious gardner.
The Gooseberry was smooth and sweet with a bit of earthiness. The flavor was as unique as the cloudberry and similar to its cousins (or close relatives), the currant.
It was the handsdown winner in this competition, but if you’re looking to challenge your tastebuds, this is a great and affordable entry point into the exotic foriegn food market.
Check it out: Hafi Variety Pack Preserves Lingonberry, Wild Cloudberry, Gooseberry 14.1-ounce Jars
We received our shipment within 2 days from Amazon and the jars came wrapped securely and fresh. It was quite a pleasant surprise opening these and the entire family had a blast trying different concoctions such as peanut butter and cloudberry sandwhiches, Lingonberry and crackers and Gooseberry on toast.
Founded in 1938 by Arne Dellgren and Bernt Bjurklint in Halland, Sweden, Hafi continues as a family owned and operated business into its fourth generation. Hafi brought together the community in a shared effort; local growers provided fresh ingredients and Arne’s mother, Frida, designed the beautiful labels. Although Hafi has grown considerably over the years, the company remains committed to the standards of quality and expertise that have always set it apart.
When you get the products, you also get the feeling that the preserves were made with homestyle care and love. While $31 for three 14 ounce jars or preserves isn’t exactly a discount, it’s a good price if you’re interested in trying something new.
Will it grow in New Jersey and zone 7?
We have had success growing gooseberries in zone 7 and in New Jersey. This spring, we planted a gooseberry bush from Amazon. It didn’t look that great when we go it, but just after 5 months now, it’s growing like crazy and we’re hoping for a harvest next season.
You can get Lingonberry plants from Amazon, but we haven’t tried it yet. They are called “red candy” and from the preserves by Hafi, we can see why.
When it comes to cloudberries, you can find the cloudberry seeds on Amazon, but they sell for almost $1 each and while each plant bears just one fruit, that makes cloudberries quite an expensive backyard garden experiment.