Berry, berry berry. So many berries to enjoy over a kiwi summer season. We love the well-known berries - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries. But then there’s more to try, think loganberries, gooseberries, cranberries, also currants, red and black.
And there’s a real summer joy of collecting freshly picked berries, direct from their growers around the country, and perhaps the chance to pick your own, the great New Zealand PYO tradition. Hard to imagine a more classically kiwi food moment.
Growers all over
You’ll find growers all around the country.
To a traveller’s great delight (and a local’s too), you can locate berry growers offering a tremendous range of berries for our summer treats, in regions right through the country. Many might be just a little off the beaten track, but they are really worth a visit.
Strawberries can be all over the place, mainly in Auckland, Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, Horowhenua and Canterbury. We love summer strawberries and all they represent. Here’s a strawberry story we wrote a wee while ago.
But don’t forget blueberries, blackcurrants and boysenberries. Blueberries started here back in 1950, as a crop for the acid peatlands of Waikato. That’s still their main centre. Most of our blackcurrant growing is in the Canterbury–North Otago area, and in Nelson. And most of the boysenberry crop is in the Tasman district, with a bit more in Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay. (Boysenberries were introduced from Knott’s Berry Farm, California, in the mid-1930s. Who knew…)
So, with all that growing, there’s sure to be a place to visit, not too far from your favourite New Zealand summer spot. Sometimes you’ll find you can grab a bucket and pick your own too. And, sometimes again, you’ll find fresh berry ice creams made onsite at the grower’s place. Quite the treat, for young and old…
Wonderful berry ideas
And, if you manage to get the berries back to home base before they all get devoured, there’s a bunch of tasty summer ideas of what to do with them. And of course, at this time of year, the summer berry trifle comes into its traditional own….
And special berry experiences
On our food trail guides app you’ll find the trail of wonderful berry growers that The FoodPath NZ has visited so far - and yes, you can go and visit them too! We hope you get a chance to pop in to see some of them on your summer travels, and appreciate their tremendous berries - and perhaps pick a few yourself (or at least sample a berry ice cream).
Wishing you happy summer travels, with more than a punnet of berries, and some berry ice cream too, to enjoy along the way….
