I first tried Yumberry juice, the new commercial nickname for the Yang Mei berry, a few years ago at the NY Fancy Food Show where it was being showcased for the first time. I have tried to contact the company in China since then to find out more, but never could connect with them. So I was excited to hear about this tasty juice coming onto the market soon.
Yang Mei, also called waxberries, are the waxy fruit of the wax myrtle. They have been collected for thousands of years in China and used medicinally. It is a healthy fruit, high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals; including vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin and carotene. The yumberry has over 100 varieties including white, pink, red, and purple. Usually the purple variety of yumberry has the best quality and taste.
SunOpta Fruit Group will soon start marketing Yumberry juice concentrate in the United States, and then in Canada one year later. This means you should hopefully start seeing the juice on market shelves in a few months after the juice companies develop their products. The juice samples I tried a few years ago were slightly tart and sweet with a nice, deep, fruity flavor all its own. Expect to see it used in various juices and juice blends similar to how pomegranate and acai have been.
The company says that "Yumberry will be used in diverse applications ranging from fruit juices to bakery applications, wines, cocktails and dairy products." Personally, I can't wait to play around with the juice in cocktails and I think there are a lot of possibilities; although it's going to be strange asking for a bottle of Yumberry juice in the store or a Yumberry Sour cocktail at a bar.
Yang Mei, also called waxberries, are the waxy fruit of the wax myrtle. They have been collected for thousands of years in China and used medicinally. It is a healthy fruit, high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals; including vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin and carotene. The yumberry has over 100 varieties including white, pink, red, and purple. Usually the purple variety of yumberry has the best quality and taste.
SunOpta Fruit Group will soon start marketing Yumberry juice concentrate in the United States, and then in Canada one year later. This means you should hopefully start seeing the juice on market shelves in a few months after the juice companies develop their products. The juice samples I tried a few years ago were slightly tart and sweet with a nice, deep, fruity flavor all its own. Expect to see it used in various juices and juice blends similar to how pomegranate and acai have been.
The company says that "Yumberry will be used in diverse applications ranging from fruit juices to bakery applications, wines, cocktails and dairy products." Personally, I can't wait to play around with the juice in cocktails and I think there are a lot of possibilities; although it's going to be strange asking for a bottle of Yumberry juice in the store or a Yumberry Sour cocktail at a bar.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-05-2007 @ 10:35AM
Eileen said...
My family is from Shanghai, and when I go back during the summers, I absolutely HAVE to have these berries -- they're delicious! As nice as they are as a juice, fresh-picked berries are the best, especially with the texture of the flesh.
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7-05-2007 @ 10:49AM
haapi said...
hi--for obvious reasons I'm curious to know if these berries are grown/commercialized anywhere else?
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7-05-2007 @ 11:56AM
Tyguy said...
Yum! I love yan mei. I had them for the fist time 2 years ago in a very small and remote village about an hour outside of Ningbo. The villagers said that we arrived right in time to pick them. They gave us giant bowls full and we also went up into the hills and picked some fresh for ourselves. We even had a yanmei seed spitting contest. :o) My friends from shanghi were very excited because they are typically very expensive there and not as good of quality but we all came home with huge bags full.
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7-05-2007 @ 9:06PM
Marc said...
We stumbled upon these at a local market in Shanghai, tucked back through an alley. They grossly over charged us, but they were extremely tasty, sort of like a cross between a raspberry, a cherry and an orange. There is a large bit in the middle. The flesh is in long juicy strings, like the inside of an orange, but growing off the pit.
I understand we were lucky to be there at the right time.
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7-06-2007 @ 6:59PM
Maryanna said...
I'm considering planning my next trip to china around yang mei season specifically...so this is fantastic news for me! I can't wait!
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7-11-2007 @ 1:26PM
looksbooks54 said...
Wow - never heard of them before, and lived in Asia for 8 years.
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7-11-2007 @ 9:15PM
Carol said...
Love hearing about new food products, but seems to me they never arrive -- or if they do -- it's five years later. Could starve to death? Discovered Kiwi in 1973 on trip east; it was full 5 years before it got to Indiana. Now there's white Kiwi available in NZ, but have never seen it here AND grocers look at me as though I've lost my mind. Must be the gray hair? :-)
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7-11-2007 @ 9:19PM
WILLYB said...
JUST RETURNED FROM SHANGHAI WHERE I WAS EATING THE WAXBERRIES. I DID NOT KNOW THE NAME BUT NOW I DO YUMBERRIES HUMMMMM!! GOOD KIND OF STRANGE TEXTURE AT FIRST BUT SUTTLE SWEET TASTE IS REFRESHING.
MY GIRL FRIEND THERE WAS FEEDING THEM TO ME AND I JUMPED BACK AT FIRST DUE TO NEVER SEEING BERRIES WITH THIS TEXTURE.
WILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLBY
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7-11-2007 @ 9:34PM
joe greene said...
Yumberry was a fruity red mixture we stirred into our milk when I was growing up in the 1960's
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7-11-2007 @ 9:38PM
Mimi said...
Yang mei berry, it sounds good but I have had wax myrtles for years and have never seen a berry. Anyone have info on the type of wax myrtle to bear this fruit?
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7-12-2007 @ 12:06AM
rescueme2day said...
I would like to know if this is related to GOJI juice
that can do many miracleous things.
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7-12-2007 @ 12:17AM
beverly said...
Yumberry...I am anxious to try Yang Mei berry, so obviously, who knows how to or which supplier is bringing them to the U.S....regarding quality and affordable? Please respond and Thanks...
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7-12-2007 @ 12:34AM
chick said...
I wonder if this fruit can be grown here in the states.
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7-12-2007 @ 12:38AM
chick said...
Also, I hope they wont ruin the juice by adding a bunch of sugar to it.
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7-12-2007 @ 12:38AM
Lauren said...
Sounds delicious. I hope it actually makes it's way to America. I'll be on the lookout for it. Thanks :)
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7-12-2007 @ 12:43AM
Yum? said...
Sounds delicious, I wonder if it will be as popular in the US with all the talk about food from China lately.
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7-12-2007 @ 1:33AM
Connie said...
I love the cute "substitute" name: Yumberry!!
Just like...
Instead of pig, we eat "pork"
Instead of squid, we eat "calimari"
And so on... :)
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7-16-2007 @ 12:27PM
Carolyn Bloomer said...
For #10. Yangmei is the fruit of a specific species of myrtle: Myrica rubra. Check Wikipedia entry for brief information. If you are interested in detailed botanical and cultivation information check the technical paper at the following web-site: http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/NPP/05-174.pdf
For #11: you may be confusing with Chinese wolfberry or gouqi (or gouqizi) in Mandarin. It is orange-red, an unrelated and much smaller fruit (a little bigger than American red bayberry) , popular in medicinal foods and teas and especially beneficial for eye-sight. For more botanical info see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry
For #13: Yangmei is a Zone 8 plant. Thus, it can be grown in the sub-tropical zones of the U.S. but for some mysterious reason does not seem to have yet taken hold.
For #14: You may be interested to know that in China people often eat yangmei by dipping the fruit in a mixture of salt and sugar (sounds bizarre, but is actually quite wonderful).
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7-17-2007 @ 1:23AM
delia said...
I've tried dried yangmei when i was a little kid and loved it since. Now i'm would love to try the fresh ones. They look like miniature `pulasan' (cousin of rambutan). BTW when is this delightful looking fruit available? Need to know to help me plan my trip to China. TQ
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7-23-2007 @ 1:48AM
blackglasses said...
I live in Shanghai and have the pleasure of eating yang mei regularly.
one thing - in china people have to be quite careful because the berries are very susceptible to insect attacks. To be blunt they are often full of bugs.
That is why people soak them in salt water first, it kills the bugs that live inside.
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