Ripe Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) in a Fraser Valley garden.
Ripe Goji Berries (Purchase)
I’ve managed to keep this Goji Berry plant alive through several bad winters but have never really managed to get much in the way of fruit from it. This year some regular watering (and a hot summer) seemed to make a difference and most of the branches were covered in berries. I had never tried them fresh, and they are quite different tasting than anything I’ve had before. Good, but different.
Goji’s other English names are Wolfberry, Matrimony Vine, and Box Thorn. While considered a “Superfood” and often accompanying exaggerated health claims, they nonetheless have high levels of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and Vitamin B and C. The berries are used in a wide variety of food products, teas, juices, or eaten fresh. Dried Goji Berries are eaten as snacks. Native to Asia, they are an important commercial crop in China where they are know as Ningxia gǒuqi.
I’ve heard of them but I guess I never knew what they looked like or what the mai plant looks like. I don’t know what they taste like either – so that puts me firmly in the category of not knowing much at all about Goji other than the marketing. 🙂
It is interesting how we learn about these things just because they are being mass marketed. I haven’t seen too much about Goji berries myself but when Blueberries were the superfood du jour I saw one toothpaste product touting antioxidant blueberries in them. I’m pretty sure that is called jumping the shark! 🙂
Yeah, such things make me suspicious- especially when you learn that the “studies” usually extrapolate to needing to consume like 10 L a day to see any benefits or something similar.
Hi Michael, I don’t know much more about Gogi berries than Mark but those berries sure are eye-catching. I guess they’re from a temperate part of China? Congrats for getting berries this year – maybe they just needed to get used to your place but I’m sure the hot summer didn’t hurt.
Thanks for the follow!
Hi Lynn! I’m not sure what area in China they come from, but they do survive being frozen for weeks on end in a pot here, so I don’t think they are in need of too warm a winter (by our standards here at least). I do think the key was regular watering (every other day) but we’ll see next year – every year seems to be different in the garden!