I saw these beautiful berries at my granddaughters school in 2021 in carpool , they are so beautiful. I took pictures of them Makes me think how Awesome God is making something this beautiful. I told Chloe look how God feed the birds and squirrels. Don't you know He will take care of us also. I am mesmerized ❤️❤️❤️❤️
If you add a bit of lemon juice to the jelly while it's still being cooked, the jelly will have the same color of the beautyberry. I have made this jelly so many times and it makes a great gift. It's very sweet and with lemon juice it is very beautiful.
Thank you for the "jelly" idea. I have 12 acres covered with this stuff. I knew it was good for something. Along with my Huckleberries, blackberries, wild mushrooms and now these, I am finding all kinds of wild edibles.
Dear Green Dean .. super a Video 💚😇💚👑🌺🍃Love .. U just came up on my feed after I made short post on BeautyBerry.. wildlife planted them all over my permaculture garden.. I find if foraged at peak time ..unique delicate flavor exquisite & Must come out in the jelly making . I will try🙏😎💚🌺🍃Thx4 inspiration Green King
Thanks STARG... in your area the wild apples and concord grapes should be good now. When I was a kid -- back in the Dark Ages -- I had to walk three miles to school. My daily walk, year round, took me across a river, through an apple orchard then along an old hedgerow of concord grapes. In September and October I would always spend some time "grazing" on the fruit and then go drop a line in the river for trout. If I were lucky I'd catch one, cook it over a fire, and get home about dark.
Thanks... these one-man operations sometimes take a while to get better...the one thing I am proud of in this little video, besides the content, is I made the music fit including my sounds rhythmically in the right places, pot cover, glass clink... toaster pop... I'm working two weeks ahead right now so I can pay attention to details like that. Got two more videos done.
You are so dang cute, with your surprised look there. I'm going out to pick Beautyberry now. I live in North Florida. and even though it's not September it is in full bloom. I just emailed you with a question about classes and An App.. There are some great places here for you to do a class. My husband and I have almost 10 acres near the Florida/Georgia line. That may not be enough land for your class. I hope you can come to this area soon. Your audio works for me. I am grateful you are out there and kind enough to make videos for us to watch. Thank you. Someone here is saying that there are ticks near the bushes. I thought this plant was good for repelling ticks.
yay i see someone here posted about them being in st pete!! at sawgrass! so excited to go back home and check that out! we have them in fort rucker alabama in our backyard here toO!
My pleasure... I tend to shy away from mentioning too much about the herbal applications for two reasons. One is litigation, and the other is that while Indians may have used a plant to treat something that does not say the plant treated the problem. Two tribes may use the same plant to treat in total a dozen problems when it may in fact only help one or two. So on video, at least, I try to sidestep that issue a little.
I watched your video today and went walking on a trail a few hours later. I ran into the beauty berry. The berries had a mild sweet flavor and a slight crunchiness to them. It was growing in zone 10 under story hammock. Probably does not get much sun.
I almost always give the native range of a plant but it can and does grow outside that range and in other countries. As for acorns, the white oak family has the last tannins and some white oaks have none. One just has to sample around. And folks say this or that plant is poisonous because 1) that is the safe course to take 2) that is what they were told and 3) they really don't know. Oh, and 4) many times they are right.
Thank you for the info! I just harvested a half a gallon bag full of the berries and Im making jelly!I got leaves also to make into mosquito repellent....they smell so good!❤ Thanks again from Gulfport Mississippi!
Up here in Washington, I started noticing these gorgeous things popping up all over at the start of fall. I thought they were toxic, being brightly colored berries, but now I'm excited to get my hands on them and maybe try out a jelly. Thanks!
Thank you! I was so excited to find a BUNCH of beautyberry at Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Pete! I just wanted to be certain I was identifying it correctly.
That's where "variety" can come into play. Dioscorea Bulbifera is a good example. Some varieties of it are edible, some are not, yet they are all Dioscroea Bulbifera. That is why studying with a local person is important.
Great videos, I have this growing in my yard in Arkansas, Funny thing is i have been trying to kill it for years...lol and my wife makes jelly out of everything she can... so here we have been with this treasure growing in our yard and didn't know it. Thanks for all the great information, We will be trying the jelly out this year!!
@skybirdbird No, they are not the same. One is Callicarpa american, the other is Callicarpa japonica. The american has edible berries the japonica has leaves you can make a tea out of.
On the Asian Beautyberries ( C. japonica, C. dichotoma and C. bodinieri)--do you know that the berries are poisonous? Or are they nasty-tasting? or are they just not listed as being edible? They do look very closely related.
Thank you. There is an excellent book for your area. Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and The Southwest by Delena Tull, 1999. It's comprehensive, and best of all about your area, and you can order it on line.
Saw your Video yesterday, made Jelly today. We have a Beautyberry bush in our garden and did not know what it was, It's been there about 4or 5 years. My wife took the berrys and made jelly today, we just boiled the berrys and did not crush them, when they were drained the juice it was not the color of the berrys but when we put the suger in the Jelly turned bright red. Our friends got 2 jars tonight after tasting it. Thanks for the Information.Might try the penny worts next. Dollar weed Jelly?
If you are referring to the Quercus family the word "poisonous" is relative. Most acorns have tannin in them which is an acid that has to be leached out before they are edible. The amount of tannin can vary species to species. This video here is not about oaks but the American Beautyberry, a totally different family.
Many of the berries still have the tiny green sepals attached to the ripe berry. Are the sepals of the beautyberry harmless when making jelly? Should they be removed before making the fusion?
Wondering about boiling the berries down to make kind of a syrup...what do you think? (I live in Louisiana) I'm looking for a drink for the kids and it came across my mind that maybe I could boil the juice out, add some agave and water and tada! a nice summertime treat??? Maybe???
If you want a special drink make shiso juice. Perilla fructans/shiso grows wild many places in the south. It's in the mint family, dark purple leaves, like purple basil, to which it is also kin. There are instructional videos on youtube. The cool thing is when boiled and the juice poured off and sweetened, the addition of a little lemon or lime juice or some apple cider vinegar changes the dark brownish purple juice bright pink, and it tastes great and mixes well with yaupon tea for which it is a great nutritional complement.
I've passed these over hundreds of times while looking for mushrooms! Funny, my grandmother from Connecticut always used paraffin when making jelly, while my grandmother in Texas never did.
Indeed, even within the same species I've heard that some are inedible or even poisonous while others are not. Especially true of plants with large ranges, I think.
@EatTheWeeds hahaha! after you poured into the jars you added something else (im not much of a cook) was that water or just some unflavoured pectin juice? ~morlan
Here is the basic recipe, adjust accordingly: 1.5 quarts beautyberries, 2 quarts water, boil 20 minutes, strain to make an infusion. Use 3 cups of infusion, bring to boil, add one envelope of Sure Jell and 4.5 cups of sugar. Bring to second boil, boil two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand until foam forms. Remove foam. Pour into sterilized jars, cap. Variation: Use 3 cups infusion and .5 cup lemon juice, 1 package of Sure Jell and 5 cups sugar.
I apologize if it's already been asked, but how much sugar do you add? I just made some Beautyberry jelly and it came out REALLY good, but ideally I'd like a little less sugar. I used 4 1/2 cups of sugar for 6 cups of berries. I'm wondering if I can get away with less?
There's a whole bunch of these growing in my aunt's front yard. She said they were rather pretty and it'd be a shame if she had to cut them down for fear of the neighborhood kids eating them and being poisoned. I think I'd like to try em myself.
I live in S.E Texas and i live in 800 acres and these are everywhere!!!! didn't know what they were and yes thought they were poisonous, I will be utilizing these from now on!!!
Would you mind posting the recipe that you use? I live here in FL so beautyberry is EVERYWHERE and I'm excited to harvest some berries and give the jelly a shot.
Yes, there is a Japanese Beautyberry used in landscaping. It's berries are not edible as edible but its leaves are used not make a tea. It has much skinnier leaves than the American Beautyberry and the fruit is not clustered around the branch like the American Beautyberry.
The biggest problem was the guitar music which was fade in and fade out and only half as long as I needed. So I had to match them rhythmically but not have them clash musically. Took a while. Don't think I want to be a professional movie maker... The next two are Caesar Weed and Persimmons. Caesar Weed is a bit off beat, but persimmon is fairly standard.
Hi Deane. What's the clear fluid in the metal container you added just before capping the jars in the video? I didn't see anything about that on the website. Thanks for all your great work.
I know what you mean about editing the video, it's annoying when you upload a video and then the video and sound aren't in sequence, can't wait to see the other videos!
Do you have any input on the “white beauty berry”? I’ve found some at Anastasia state park when the “magenta” ones were ripe in my yard. Have eaten the purple berries,but was kinda steering clear of the white
There are two sources of "white" beautyberries. One is an ornamental that has been bred to be white, the other is a spontaneous change that happens once in a while to the mauve-colored berries. The next year they seem to go back to mauve. I have been told the white beautyberries are edible but I have not done so.
I saw these beautiful berries at my granddaughters school in 2021 in carpool , they are so beautiful. I took pictures of them Makes me think how Awesome God is making something this beautiful. I told Chloe look how God feed the birds and squirrels. Don't you know He will take care of us also. I am mesmerized ❤️❤️❤️❤️
If you add a bit of lemon juice to the jelly while it's still being cooked, the jelly will have the same color of the beautyberry. I have made this jelly so many times and it makes a great gift. It's very sweet and with lemon juice it is very beautiful.
@Nox Fyre how much lemon juice do you add? The berry color is so beautiful!
What's the recepie
Is it okay to leave the pulp in the jelly? I noticed he strained his.
Thank you for the "jelly" idea. I have 12 acres covered with this stuff. I knew it was good for something. Along with my Huckleberries, blackberries, wild mushrooms and now these, I am finding all kinds of wild edibles.
We Always called it French toilet paper in the boy scouts!
Dear Green Dean .. super a Video 💚😇💚👑🌺🍃Love .. U just came up on my feed after I made short post on BeautyBerry.. wildlife planted them all over my permaculture garden.. I find if foraged at peak time ..unique delicate flavor exquisite & Must come out in the jelly making . I will try🙏😎💚🌺🍃Thx4 inspiration Green King
Thanks STARG... in your area the wild apples and concord grapes should be good now. When I was a kid -- back in the Dark Ages -- I had to walk three miles to school. My daily walk, year round, took me across a river, through an apple orchard then along an old hedgerow of concord grapes. In September and October I would always spend some time "grazing" on the fruit and then go drop a line in the river for trout. If I were lucky I'd catch one, cook it over a fire, and get home about dark.
We make jelly from the berries every year. They are mildly flavored off the bush, but they are WONDERFUL as a jelly!
Thanks... these one-man operations sometimes take a while to get better...the one thing I am proud of in this little video, besides the content, is I made the music fit including my sounds rhythmically in the right places, pot cover, glass clink... toaster pop... I'm working two weeks ahead right now so I can pay attention to details like that. Got two more videos done.
You are so dang cute, with your surprised look there. I'm going out to pick Beautyberry now. I live in North Florida. and even though it's not September it is in full bloom. I just emailed you with a question about classes and An App.. There are some great places here for you to do a class. My husband and I have almost 10 acres near the Florida/Georgia line. That may not be enough land for your class. I hope you can come to this area soon. Your audio works for me. I am grateful you are out there and kind enough to make videos for us to watch. Thank you. Someone here is saying that there are ticks near the bushes. I thought this plant was good for repelling ticks.
Be careful with those ticks. I know ticks are dangerous.
i planted a beautyberry in my back yard and can't wait to try this jelly
Lots of Beauty Berry on the Upper TampaBay Trail now. I'm a Park Ranger there. Plenty ripe right now.
yay i see someone here posted about them being in st pete!! at sawgrass! so excited to go back home and check that out! we have them in fort rucker alabama in our backyard here toO!
Thanks for writing.... I really like the jelly it makes.
My pleasure... I tend to shy away from mentioning too much about the herbal applications for two reasons. One is litigation, and the other is that while Indians may have used a plant to treat something that does not say the plant treated the problem. Two tribes may use the same plant to treat in total a dozen problems when it may in fact only help one or two. So on video, at least, I try to sidestep that issue a little.
You saved the day again green bean! We have tons of these all over! YOU ROCK!
Just discovered this channel. Awesome. Can't wait to see what other edible plants are around.
I watched your video today and went walking on a trail a few hours later. I ran into the beauty berry. The berries had a mild sweet flavor and a slight crunchiness to them. It was growing in zone 10 under story hammock. Probably does not get much sun.
I almost always give the native range of a plant but it can and does grow outside that range and in other countries. As for acorns, the white oak family has the last tannins and some white oaks have none. One just has to sample around. And folks say this or that plant is poisonous because 1) that is the safe course to take 2) that is what they were told and 3) they really don't know. Oh, and 4) many times they are right.
Thank you for the info! I just harvested a half a gallon bag full of the berries and Im making jelly!I got leaves also to make into mosquito repellent....they smell so good!❤ Thanks again from Gulfport Mississippi!
Thank you for being so awesome to do this!
Up here in Washington, I started noticing these gorgeous things popping up all over at the start of fall. I thought they were toxic, being brightly colored berries, but now I'm excited to get my hands on them and maybe try out a jelly. Thanks!
Thank you! I was so excited to find a BUNCH of beautyberry at Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Pete! I just wanted to be certain I was identifying it correctly.
Great channel! I'm so glad I found it! Thank you for the videos :)
That's where "variety" can come into play. Dioscorea Bulbifera is a good example. Some varieties of it are edible, some are not, yet they are all Dioscroea Bulbifera. That is why studying with a local person is important.
I love this plant. It is a Texas Native. Not only beautiful but edible!
Once again an excellent video, Deane.
These are very unbelievably abundant in Huntsville State park in Houston.. next time I go i'll have to take permission to forage some of these
Great videos, I have this growing in my yard in Arkansas, Funny thing is i have been trying to kill it for years...lol and my wife makes jelly out of everything she can... so here we have been with this treasure growing in our yard and didn't know it. Thanks for all the great information, We will be trying the jelly out this year!!
@skybirdbird No, they are not the same. One is Callicarpa american, the other is Callicarpa japonica. The american has edible berries the japonica has leaves you can make a tea out of.
It is striking the first time you see it.
There are other species of beautyberry and there are some close relatives. So yes, becareful.
Thanks for the book suggestion, I will buy it
@tasilbhurn I poured in hot wax, a common practice when making jelly.
On the Asian Beautyberries ( C. japonica, C. dichotoma and C. bodinieri)--do you know that the berries are poisonous? Or are they nasty-tasting? or are they just not listed as being edible? They do look very closely related.
Wow Well done! Sure never seen anything like that up here in the north!
I grow wild Beauty Berries on my land. Everyone loves the jams we sell.
Thank you. There is an excellent book for your area. Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and The Southwest by Delena Tull, 1999. It's comprehensive, and best of all about your area, and you can order it on line.
On my website, eattheweeds (dot com) type in beautyberry into the archive window and that will take you to a blog on beautyberries and a jelly recipe.
OMG what a beautiful plant!!!!
@HighDBarFarm When man moved off the farm it was a rejection of nature, and out of that came all the wild plants toxic.
Saw your Video yesterday, made Jelly today. We have a Beautyberry bush in our garden and did not know what it was, It's been there about 4or 5 years. My wife took the berrys and made jelly today, we just boiled the berrys and did not crush them, when they were drained the juice it was not the color of the berrys but when we put the suger in the Jelly turned bright red. Our friends got 2 jars tonight after tasting it. Thanks for the Information.Might try the penny worts next. Dollar weed Jelly?
If you are referring to the Quercus family the word "poisonous" is relative. Most acorns have tannin in them which is an acid that has to be leached out before they are edible. The amount of tannin can vary species to species. This video here is not about oaks but the American Beautyberry, a totally different family.
Is it up hill from the street? And if you have some there is probably more around.
@leftunattended Most of them in the wild in the US are the Americana. Also, the Japonic has much smaller leaves.
Many of the berries still have the tiny green sepals attached to the ripe berry. Are the sepals of the beautyberry harmless when making jelly? Should they be removed before making the fusion?
Great video
I have found some on the side of a busy road growing near a fence maybe a yard away from the street. would that be safe to eat?
Wondering about boiling the berries down to make kind of a syrup...what do you think? (I live in Louisiana) I'm looking for a drink for the kids and it came across my mind that maybe I could boil the juice out, add some agave and water and tada! a nice summertime treat??? Maybe???
Yes, you can make them into a syrup.
If you want a special drink make shiso juice. Perilla fructans/shiso grows wild many places in the south. It's in the mint family, dark purple leaves, like purple basil, to which it is also kin. There are instructional videos on youtube. The cool thing is when boiled and the juice poured off and sweetened, the addition of a little lemon or lime juice or some apple cider vinegar changes the dark brownish purple juice bright pink, and it tastes great and mixes well with yaupon tea for which it is a great nutritional complement.
I've passed these over hundreds of times while looking for mushrooms! Funny, my grandmother from Connecticut always used paraffin when making jelly, while my grandmother in Texas never did.
"Caught Me", haha Busted! You funny Green Dean 😀💪🤙
Indeed, even within the same species I've heard that some are inedible or even poisonous while others are not. Especially true of plants with large ranges, I think.
yum yum yum!!! bland tasting but so beautiful...the deer love them too!
Good video.
@EatTheWeeds hahaha!
after you poured into the jars you added something else (im not much of a cook) was that water or just some unflavoured pectin juice?
~morlan
Hot wax made just for the purpose. It is a common technique when making jelly, though lids work well now.
You can use less but at some point it will not jell and you will have syrup.
Yes....
Here is the basic recipe, adjust accordingly: 1.5 quarts beautyberries, 2 quarts water, boil 20 minutes, strain to make an infusion. Use 3 cups of infusion, bring to boil, add one envelope of Sure Jell and 4.5 cups of sugar. Bring to second boil, boil two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand until foam forms. Remove foam. Pour into sterilized jars, cap. Variation: Use 3 cups infusion and .5 cup lemon juice, 1 package of Sure Jell and 5 cups sugar.
I hear the Beauty Berry makes fantastic jelly.
That never crossed my mind as it is standard jelly-making practice. That's paraffin wax
I apologize if it's already been asked, but how much sugar do you add? I just made some Beautyberry jelly and it came out REALLY good, but ideally I'd like a little less sugar. I used 4 1/2 cups of sugar for 6 cups of berries. I'm wondering if I can get away with less?
There's a whole bunch of these growing in my aunt's front yard. She said they were rather pretty and it'd be a shame if she had to cut them down for fear of the neighborhood kids eating them and being poisoned.
I think I'd like to try em myself.
Awesome, thanks!!!
Appreciate it.
I live in S.E Texas and i live in 800 acres and these are everywhere!!!! didn't know what they were and yes thought they were poisonous, I will be utilizing these from now on!!!
Would you mind posting the recipe that you use? I live here in FL so beautyberry is EVERYWHERE and I'm excited to harvest some berries and give the jelly a shot.
Franko2020 www.eattheweeds.com/beautyberry-jelly-on-a-roll/
@tasilbhurn aah cool ok. I didnt know that. Thanks.
You do a great job sir
Making some this weekend!!
Yes, there is a Japanese Beautyberry used in landscaping. It's berries are not edible as edible but its leaves are used not make a tea. It has much skinnier leaves than the American Beautyberry and the fruit is not clustered around the branch like the American Beautyberry.
i found some in Newark Nj.
they look the same.
@hydrobell Don't most jellies takes like sugar?
Will they survive a MN winter (4A)?
The biggest problem was the guitar music which was fade in and fade out and only half as long as I needed. So I had to match them rhythmically but not have them clash musically. Took a while. Don't think I want to be a professional movie maker... The next two are Caesar Weed and Persimmons. Caesar Weed is a bit off beat, but persimmon is fairly standard.
Hi Deane. What's the clear fluid in the metal container you added just before capping the jars in the video? I didn't see anything about that on the website. Thanks for all your great work.
That's paraffin wax melted and it poured over the top of the jelly to seal it
Do the leaves smell like the lantana? I like that smell...
@tigerklink No that I know of. They'd don't have much flavor.
I know what you mean about editing the video, it's annoying when you upload a video and then the video and sound aren't in sequence, can't wait to see the other videos!
Thank you.. by the time I get to 100 I'll have it down right...
This IS the first time I'm seeing it!
Thank Youuuuu!~~
@EatTheWeeds tkx... should the leaves be dried first or used fresh?
Thank you for clearing up misinformation
Do you have any input on the “white beauty berry”? I’ve found some at Anastasia state park when the “magenta” ones were ripe in my yard. Have eaten the purple berries,but was kinda steering clear of the white
There are two sources of "white" beautyberries. One is an ornamental that has been bred to be white, the other is a spontaneous change that happens once in a while to the mauve-colored berries. The next year they seem to go back to mauve. I have been told the white beautyberries are edible but I have not done so.
They do taste better cooked into a jelly.
Watch out for ticks when gathering beautyberry. I always get ticks in stands of this plant.
Those are nasty ticks. Some ticks can transmit very serious diseases.
Very easily.
What do you pour on top of the jelly at the end? in every vid I see you do that.. what is it? water?
Recipe for the jelly?
i have one of these, but was told it is a japanese beautyberry... are they the same?
No. Sugar is necessary to make jelly without modern chemicals.
Yes, but they are mealy so they don't store greatly.
Very cool!
Do you add sugar to your berries in order for it to become jelly like?
@EatTheWeeds by the way i was laughing at the sugar comment not the wax thing. hehe
There is an odor resemblance to the Lantana
Is this indigenous in Texas??? It came up in a search, but I'm unsure of ever seeing these.
I like your sarcasm ;)
They do lose some time to time... it has been rainy.
In the boy scouts we always called it French Toilet paper! Lol!
Then you may be in for a treat!
Gonna make some thank you, just found a huge bush on my property.