Jostaberry

The jostaberry (pronounced "yostaberry") ("Ribes x culverwellii", "Ribes nidigrolaria", "Ribes" x "nidigrolaria" or "Ribes nigrum" x "uva-crispa") is a complex cross in the Ribes genus. It is commonly described as a cross between the blackcurrant and the gooseberry, but it is actually the result of a more complex breeding program by Rudolph Bauer at the Max Planck Institute, and its ancestry also includes "R. divaricatum". The name of the fruit comes from the German words for blackcurrant and gooseberry: "Johannisbeere" ("Jo") and "Stachelbeere" ("Sta"). The original fruit was made available to the public in 1977; since then the United States Department of Agriculture in Oregon has developed new varieties.

The shiny black fruit, which is globular or ellipsoid and about 1.2cm long, is edible both raw and cooked. It is described as having a taste intermediate between that of a gooseberry and that of a blackcurrant, with the gooseberry flavor being more dominant in the unripe fruit, and the blackcurrant notes developing as the fruit ripens. Like blackcurrants the fruit freezes well, and like many other members of the Ribes genus it is rich in Vitamin C.

The plant itself grows to a maximum height of about 2m, flowering in mid-spring, with fruit setting and ripening on a similar timetable to the blackcurrant (fruit fully ripe by late summer). Unlike the gooseberry, the plant is (for most varietals) thornless. The plant displays typical hybrid vigor, growing and fruiting well and being resistant to a number of common diseases afflicting other Ribes. In particular the plant is resistant to American gooseberry mildew, blackcurrant leaf spot, white pine blister rust, and big bud gall mite. Flowers are hermaphrodite and the plant is self-fertile following insect pollination.

Links

* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Ribes+x+culverwellii Plants For A Future database report: Ribes x culverwellii]
* [http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/VegFruit/Fruits/josta.htm Colorado State University, Department of Horticulture: The Jostaberry is Here!]
* [http://www.garden.org/subchannels/edibles/berries?q=show&id=678 National Gardening Association: Jostaberry]