The middle Atlantic region and Ohio are traditional hotbeds of black raspberry enthusiasm. There are a few commercial growers of black raspberries in the East, all with small plantings. The state that grows the most black raspberries is Oregon, with about 1,000 acres planted. Most of these berries are mechanically harvested for processing into jams, dessert flavorings and even a natural dye for meat.
Return of a Native
The black raspberry is a native fruit, growing wild along the edges of woods from Quebec to North Dakota, and south to Arkansas and Georgia. The first variety, Ohio Everbearing (small and not very tasty), was named in 1832. By the end of the 19th century, thousands of acres of black raspberries were being planted in western New York alone. In his 1925 classic, The Small Fruits of New York, Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick described almost 200 varieties of black raspberry, most of them selections from the wild. Today, however, only a handful of black raspberry cultivars are readily available.