Last week while sitting down to dinner
with two of my friends we began to discuss smoothies. One of my friends shared
that as a summer job she makes smoothies at a local gym. We then began to talk
about the different smoothie flavors. She mentioned that there was one flavor
in particular that she didn’t have a lot of knowledge on. I asked her what
flavor she was referring too. She replied that the flavor was marionberry. To
which my other friend responded that she had not even heard of this berry
before. I was shocked to hear this. Marionberries are everywhere in Oregon.
They appear in jam, cobblers, pies, and even smoothies. Everyone in Oregon
knows what a marionberry is. Prior to this conversation it never occurred to me
that others do not know what a marionberry is. I gave them an appalled look and
began to describe what this magical berry is. I told them that it is similar to
a blackberry but in my opinion better. This made me wonder where and how the
marionberry came about.
Much to my surprise I discovered
that the marionberry is a hybrid blackberry. The marionberry contains “44
percent Rubus ursinus (the only truly native blackberry in Oregon,
characterized by its outstanding flavor), 25 percent R. armeniacus (the
Himalaya, a weed introduced from Europe in the late 1800s), and 6 percent R.
idaeus (the red raspberry)”(Strick p.1). All of this combined makes up the tasty berry
that is native to my home state, Oregon.
The marionberry was “developed by
Oregon State University's Agricultural Research and Development Program in
Corvallis, Oregon” (Mersinger p.1). Oregon State with the help of George F.
Waldo of the USDA began development of this hybrid in 1945 in the Willamette
Valley. The new berry was tested at Willamette Valley farms and later
introduced to the public in 1956 (Mersinger p.1). The berry was originally
named the marion blackberry or marionberry for short. The new berry was named
after Marion County, the county in which the berry originated.
Ninety percent of the world’s marionberries
are produced near Oregon’s capital City Salem (Mersinger p.1). According to
Oregon Encyclopedia “In 2007, almost 30 million pounds were harvested from
4,500 acres in the state, with farm sales over $11 million” (Strick
p.1). Very few parts of the world are able to produce cane berries, Oregon
especially its Willamette Valley is one of these parts. (mersinger p.1).
Because of Oregon’s wet spring climate and warm summer days with cool nights
cane berries such as the marionberry are able to thrive. This climate also
produces ripe plump berries that are quite tasty (Mersinger p.1). Early summer
in Oregon is prime berry harvesting season. Growing up I looked forward to the
early summer days of berry picking. The span between late June and mid July is
when the berries are ripe and ready to be picked. Usually the berries are
picked in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat.
Because the marionberry is native to
Oregon it has been proposed as the state’s official berry. According to The Oregonian newspaper it was brought
up to the legislature, however it did not pass. The proposal was met with much
debate. The Oregonian reported that a
local berry farmer who grows Kotata blackberries thought that it was unfair to
name the marionberry the official berry because over half of the blackberries
produced in Oregon are marionberries. Duyck argued that coining the marionberry
as the state berry would give an unfair amount of publicity to the marionberry
and not his Kotata berry (The Oregonian 2009). As a result the cane berry
commission of Oregon decided to back off because the proposal was not as
serious as other legislative proposals of the time.
The marionberry is quite a versatile
berry. The marionberry as most berries are considered to be good for your health.
During the summer restaurants all over Oregon offer special marionberry foods.
One of my personal favorite restaurants McMenamins offers marionberry cobbler a
la mode in the summer. The sweet yet also tartness of the berries mixed with
the melting of the vanilla ice cream makes this dessert irresistible. Aside
from marionberry cobbler there is also marionberry pie, milkshakes, jams,
jellies, syrups, and ice cream. All of which are wildly popular in Oregon. One
local ice cream company Tillamook during the summer month’s makes marionberry
pie ice cream, which happens to be a personal favorite of mine.
Prior
to researching the marionberry I had no clue where it originated. I knew that a
marionberry was a type of blackberry that grew in Oregon. After doing a quick
Google search I learned that the marionberry for the most part originated in my
back yard. Marion County the home of the marionberry is only a forty-five
minute drive from my hometown of Eugene. My relationship with marionberries
through my research has strengthened. I now know where exactly one of my
favorite berries originated. This to me means a lot. Most of the time when you
are at the grocery store and purchase berries it usually says the state in
which it was produced. However through my research I can honestly tell someone
where the marion blackberry was created. Now when I go to the store this summer
and buy marionberry pie ice cream I will at least know the origin of at least
on of the ingredients.
Works
Cited:
Har , Janie . "Push to name a state berry starts
rhubarb." The Oregonian [Salem, OR]. 24 Feb. 2009. Web. 8 May 2012.
<http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1235449509274880.xml&coll=7>.
Mersinger, Monica. "Marionberries A
Delicious Part of Salem's Past." Salem Online History . Salem
Public Library , Web. 8 May 2012.
<http://www.salemhistory.net/commerce/marionberries.htm>.
Strick, Bernadine . "Marionberry." The
Oregon Encyclopedia . Web. 8 May 2012.
<http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/marionberry/>.
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