Learn all about the unique white pineberries that are beginning to show up next to the red strawberries in stores across the country.
When I hear about a new type of fruit, I always search it out until I find it.
Sometimes that's a quick process like with the Tropical Bliss Strawberry that I found within a couple hours of hearing about it. Or it's a long process that has me searching stores and markets for years.
That's the case with the topic of today's post - the Pineberry. I heard about them but keep missing out on buying them. This is no longer the case.
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🍍 What is a Pineberry?
A pineberry looks like a reverse strawberry. It has a white flesh with small red seeds instead of a red flesh with small white seeds. Some berries will have a pink hue to them. They are stunning to see next to the red ones. The berries are not only white on outside but are completely so in the inside too.
Since the berries are light in color, bruises will show up easier on the fruit. All the pineberries I have found have been sold in a container in a single layer. No berries are stacked on top of each other.
📛 What Names Does It Go By?
The marketing of the berry varies by who grows it. I have seen packages labelled
- Pink-A-Boo Pineberries
- Berry De Blanc Pineberries
- Or just simply White Strawberries
❔ How Is it Different?
Color is the obvious difference but what you are probably wondering about the most is do they taste different. The answer is maybe. The reason they are called pineberries is that they are said to have a pineapple like flavor. They are not a strawberry crossed with a pineapple. Those fruits aren't compatable.
What I am finding is that most of the berries don't taste any different. I believe the problem is that the berries are picked too soon. We have grown strawberries and I have been to several u-pick farms and I can tell you that the standard strawberry is white before it's red. Not the case with the pineberry. It's white and stays mainly white when ripe. A pinkish color to them would indicate maturity, or the seeds being a bright red color. Still not as easy to harvest as red berries.
I have found some pineberries that were hard, certainly not picked at their optimal flavor. I think this berry has potential to have amazing flavor however at this time I am not finding that them to be consistent. Maybe as farm continue to learn how to grow them well the flavor will become more consistent.
I have had a few berries that did have a really good flavor that surpassed that of most red berries. And all of the berries have been relatively sweet. I have yet to taste that one that I thought was too sour.
❄️ When in Season?
If they are coming from Florida, you can expect them in season from about the end of November through early April. Other times of year you can find them coming from California. Their season is usually January through October.
Pineberries have only been on the market for a couple years, but so far I have noticed they have been easier to find in the winter months, during the height of the Florida season.
🛒 Where to Buy
Want to taste this berry for yourself. Here are some stores to look in. No guarantee they will be there everyday:
- ALDI
- Costco
- Central Market
- Detwiler's Farm Market
- Giant Eagle
- Hannaford Market
- Meijer
- Publix
- Sprouts
- The Fresh Market
- Winn-Dixie
🗒️ Notes - I do not know if they are in ALDI stores across the nation, but I have seen them in stores in the south. Also note that the price is going to be higher for pineberries. The $4.99 for a container at ALDI is the cheapest price I have seen them for so far. The containers are 10 ounce ones instead of the 16 ounce containers that are standard for red strawberries.
🍓 Other Types of Strawberries
Driscoll's has released some other light colored berries that are their own proprietary varieties.
Where have you found pineberries? Leave a comment below telling us the store and the city you found them in. We appreciate you sharing this.
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