As the popularity of berries with shoppers continues to increase, scientists at the James Hutton Institute are working with growers and industry on projects designed to secure the place of UK-grown soft fruit in the market. For instance, our researchers are hard at work assessing many different blueberry varieties to find plants that grow well and have desirable traits, to then use them as parents in a breeding programme. Likewise, everyone knows the iconic fruit drink Ribena, but few people realise that the blackcurrant varieties used to produce this ever-popular drink were bred at the James Hutton Institute.
It has been estimated that blackcurrants bred at the James Hutton Institute account for more than 50 percent of the global crop. Hutton raspberry varieties include Glen Ample, the UK's most popular variety, as well as Glen Lyon, the number one variety in Spain. Our commercial subsidiary James Hutton Limited also offers expertise in breeding blackberries, gooseberries and blueberries.
The many health benefits of consuming deeply coloured soft fruit such as blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries are the subject of much research at the Institute. With funding from the Scottish Government, InnovateUK, the EU and industry, our researchers have built up a substantial body of work that has identified these soft fruits as being beneficial to human health.
To celebrate the Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight, we’re sharing our recipe of a brilliant upside down chocolatey blueberry cake to highlight the quality of Scottish and UK berries. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Cooking instructions
Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo [2], Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 [3] (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 [4] (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 [5] (mobile).
Links:
[1] https://www.hutton.ac.uk/staff/susan-mccallum
[2] mailto:bernardo.rodriguez-salcedo@hutton.ac.uk?subject=Query%20from%20Hutton%20website
[3] tel:+441224395089
[4] tel:+44344928 5428
[5] tel:+447791193918