Ahhh….freshly-picked honeyberries! It’s a beautiful and wonderfully delicious sight.
Our friends, Gerry and Jill Schoen, own Schoen Valley Orchard near River Falls, Wisconsin. The Schoen’s (pronounced Shane) have spent the last six years perfecting their honeyberry crop.
In early July, my family and I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with Gerry Schoen picking honeyberries and learning all about this delightfully nutritious and unique fruit.
(Gerry Schoen pictured above)
What is a honeyberry? This blue-colored berry, elongated in shape, grows on a shrub, and tends to thrive in colder climates.
Like all fruit, each plant produces flowers first. In the case of the honeyberry, two flowers get pollinated and become pods. See Gerry’s demonstration below.
To me, it tastes a little bit like a blueberry, but the skin has a softer, more melt-in your-mouth-like texture.
Currently, the Schoen’s have around 1200 honeyberry bushes at their orchard, which I’m told will yield about 2500 pounds of fruit this season.
“I wanted to try something different that would complement the traditional berries,” Gerry explains.
Their neighbors to the west, White Pine Berry Farm, sell strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. It’s a special place for Gerry and Jill; it’s where they got married. That experience helped shape Gerry’s vision for his own property.
(Workshop on the grounds at Schoen Valley Orchard)
“I did some research, found out it was an up and coming thing, not very well-known,” says Gerry.
After sampling some jam from another grower, he decided it was time to start planting his own crop of honeyberries.
Honeyberries have a lot of nutritional value as well.
“In Japan, they call it the fruit of long life, the fruit of good eyesight. I’ve had customers come in and they’ll pick 20-30 pounds of it at a time,” says Gerry.
From there, these customers turn it into honeyberry juice and use it as a vitamin supplement.
And there’s nothing wrong with making a few sweet treats either.
“I make jams, I make topping. I’ve made fruit leather. They make really good fruit leather,” says Gerry.
But the best way to eat them? Frozen. Gerry says all you need is a freezer-friendly container...then dig in!
We were eager to try this method and it did not disappoint. They taste like tiny, berry-flavored popsicles and they’re really, really good.
What’s next for Schoen Valley Orchard? Gerry tells me he is hoping to expand his honeyberry crop to about 2000 plants. He also plans to start selling some of his products (jams, syrups, etc) to his honeyberry-loving customers.
Don’t forget the wine🍷🍷
While Gerry doesn’t plan to produce any honeyberry wine himself, he has sampled some, and may be interested in working with a wine vitner in the future. Save a glass for me!
Ready to give honeyberries a try?
I’m told berry-picking at the orchard is expected to continue through the month of July. Appointments can be made by calling 651-503-4956. Check out their Facebook page to learn more at Schoen Valley Orchard.
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