A recent article by Saveur spotlighting the flavors of black raspberries made me think about how much I love their flavor, and about other under appreciated foods that I like. Before I moved to my current location, I had never eaten black raspberries. When I discovered small plants growing on the edge of our property that looked like raspberries I let them grow, only to find out later they were black raspberries. The flavor and color both captivated me, so I cultivated and expanded this patch over the next few years, canning jams and freezing the berries to use in a variety of dishes. As I noted in the ice cream-cookbook review, the Black raspberry sherbet from Hello, My Name is Ice Cream by Dana Cree is phenomenal.
The Saveur article describes black raspberries as "Sweeter than a raspberry, less bracing than a blackberry, with a deep, almost wine-like complexity." I would add that there is a floral quality to the flavor as well, but it is delicate and varies depending on the weather conditions. Some years my black raspberries have a heady floral aroma while it is more subdued in years with drought or other climatic stressors. If you are wondering what to do with black raspberries, there are 239 recipes in the EYB Library (37 online).
Another fruit with an interesting flavor that is common here, but not often found in stores, is the ground cherry. I wrote about ground cherries, and how they are often confused with European gooseberries, last autumn. Ground cherries have an almost tropical flavor, a cross between tomato and pineapple. As a bonus, they are easy to grow and attractive with the casing around the tiny yellow orbs resembling a Chinese lantern plant. Despite ground cherries being plentiful in a variety of areas, there are few recipes in the EYB Library that explicitly call for them only 70 in total, with 13 available online. Let me know your favorite under-the-radar foods and flavors.