Content

• To step
• Tips
• Warnings

You may think that the main difference between raspberries and blackberries is the color, but that's not the case. Blackberries are red when unripe. And there are two types of raspberries: red and black. Black raspberries can easily be confused with blackberries. So how do you keep them apart? We'll show you!

To step

1. Look for a grater! Both raspberries and blackberries produce composite fruits consisting of many small, single seed droplets held together with microscopic hairs. The droplets form around the outside of a core, or grater.
   • When raspberries are picked, the group of drops, which we call a raspberry, falls off the grater and leaves them behind. In blackberries, the grater breaks off where it attaches to the stem and remains inside the fruit.
   • When a ripe blackberry is picked, the stem that remains is smooth and flat, and the berry has a soft white core in it. The burr is not hollow.
2. Look at the shape of the raspberry. If you look at a raspberry that is red, it could be a ripe red raspberry or an unripe black raspberry.
   • Red raspberries are often more rectangular in shape (actually like blackberries). Most cultivated raspberries have that shape. The grater is quite large.
   • Black raspberries are often more round, or semi-spherical in shape, not elongated like red raspberries. The grater is very small, but you can tell it is a raspberry because the berry will be hollow.
3. Consider what time of year it is. Both red and black raspberries often ripen in July, although this can vary depending on how far north or south they grow. Blackberries ripen slightly later than raspberries. There may be some overlap in their seasons.
4. Inspect the plant. The plants will look roughly the same to those unfamiliar with them. They all have foothills, long stems that emerge directly from the ground. All three have thorns or spines, and they all have similar leaves. But if you take a closer look, you will be able to see some differences between the three types.
   • Red raspberry offshoots are much shorter than the blackberry offshoots. Red raspberries are about one and a half meters high. When the stems emerge from the ground, they have a pale green color. The stems have more thorns than those of blackberries, but they are some softer, and not thick like rose thorns.
   • Black raspberry shoots are shorter than those of the red raspberry and bend back to the ground.
   • The stems have a very pale color, almost bluish, that issues when you rub the stem. The thorns are somewhere in between those of the red raspberries and blackberries, in both the number of thorns on the stem and the size of the thorns.
   • The shoots of the blackberries are huge and very powerful, they grow up to three meters long. The stems themselves are green, and the thorns resemble rose thorns in size.
5. Ready.

Tips

• Blackberries grow in large areas along the highway and can be harvested to make delicious wine and delicious cakes.
• There are many other berries that resemble raspberries and blackberries, including marion berries, boysen berries, logan berries, young berries, dewberries, beautiful raspberries and Japanese wineberries. There are probably many more. Some of these grow on offshoots, some crawl on the ground.
• There are several varieties of cultivated raspberries, including golden raspberries (yellow-orange when ripe), fall-bearing raspberries (red or dark red, and ripe in the fall).
• There are thornless varieties of blackberries.

Warnings

• Wild berries often grow on deserted land. Less pleasant things grow there, such as poison ivy, nettles, snakes, etc. Be aware of hidden dangers.
• Blackberries that grow along public roads are often sprayed with herbicides. Pick from plants that you know are safe.
• If you've never picked wild berries before, then you should have someone with you to show you how to recognize the plants when you first go out.
• Blackberries, if not fully ripe, can be quite sour!
• Full-grown blackberry offshoots have large thorns, and if you hit adult blackberries in the center of a field, you could injure yourself coming out.