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Tasmanian Berries
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Produce
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Tasmania country
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Reviewed By
Sue Dyson And Roger McShane
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Address:
Tasmania
Country:
Australia
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Tasmania's temperate climate means it's always been renowned for raspberries, strawberries, and blue berries, but in recent years a few berry growers have ventured into more unusual varieties. However we never pass up the opportunity to sample the traditional berries of cool climate raspberries or strawberries. This year we have been enjoying the delicious strawberries from Richmond Cherries (they have branched out!) which are usually available from the Farm Gate Market in Melville St on Sunday and sometimes from Salamanca Market. We also like the raspberries from the Derwent Valley from Lanoma Estate at Westerway where there is always high quality berries such as raspberries and blackberries available during the season as well as three or four varieties of potatoes and house made berry jams. We have also enjoyed the organic blueberries grown by Christopher Strong at Lilydale and Huon Choice Berries (also at the Farm Gate Market) and the strawberries from Tassie Blue at Lymington. We recently tried some great blueberries from Aviemore Farm at Gravelly Beach that we bought at the Hill Street Grocer.Places you can visit include the Sorell Fruit Farm at Sorell (which also has tayberries, a cross between raspberries and blackberries), Montagu in the north-west, Hillwood Farm, at Hillwood on the eastern side of the Tamar Valley, Christmas Hills in the north, between Elizabeth Town and Deloraine, and Kate's Berry Farm, just south of Swansea. In the Huon you can visit Tassie Blue at Lymington in January and February to buy fresh blueberries. You will also find good locally-grown berries at Salamanca Market in Hobart and at most good corner stores. Many are supplied with fruit from people's back gardens.At the MONA Saturday afternoon market you can find beautiful organic blueberries from Russell River Organics at Judbury on the Eatem Organic Farm stall. We also found some excellent dried blueberries from the Oyster Cove Biodynamic Farm.One of the best and most easily accessible plantings from Hobart is at the Sorell Fruit Farm, a pick-your-own-fruit farm just out of Hobart, where the crop includes tayberries and jostaberries. Tayberries, which were first bred in Scotland, are a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. Like raspberries, they are richly-flavoured but soft and not easily transported so you need to go to the source if you want to eat them fresh. Jostaberries are a cross between blackcurrants and gooseberries, and usually used in jams, jellies and liqueurs. Sorell Fruit Farm also grows and sells loganberries, silvanberries and boysenberries, alongside their more familiar crops.Another southern producer, Pinnacle Berries, also grows jostaberries and uses them to make a savoury jelly and a jam. Ian and Alda Black from Pinnacle Berries use all the fruit they grow in their own jams and jellies. As well as jostaberries, they grow huckleberries and purple and golden raspberries. The latter are used in a unique layered golden and red raspberry jam, called raspberry band jam. Look out also for the offerings from Seaview Orchards at Kingston who produce delicious organic raspberries and black currants which we usually buy at Eumarrah in Hobart and the organic raspberries from Glenpatrick Organics.Richmond CherriesOgilvie Lane, Richmond (03) 6260 2484cherry32@bigpond.net.auSorell Fruit Farm174 Pawleena Rd, Sorell. (03) 6265 3100.www.sorellfruitfarm.com Aviemore Farm403 Gravelly Beach Rd, Gravelly Beach (03) 6394 4631Pinnacle BerriesYarlington Rd, Colebrook. (03) 6259 7142.Lanoma EstateWesterway, Tas (03) 6288 1143lanoma@westnet.com.auRussell River Organics1340 Lonnavale RoadJudbury 7109Oyster Cove Biodynamic FarmKettering, 7155 Tas (03) 6267 4448
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