I was originally introduced to the yumberry — officially known as yangmei or waxberries— while at the 2007 Winter Fancy Foods Show. The fruit looks a lot like a soft lychee; however, the inside is a solid fruit with a deep reddish hue, similar to a pomegranate. Naturally, since everyone is on the antioxidant train, a company has come out selling the juice of the yumberries. In China the Yumberry Juice company sells everything from syrup to sparkling juice, but in the US they're currently only offering several variations of juice. Recently I picked up a bottle of their Yumberry with the Blues mixture and gave it a try. To find out how it is, read more.
The juice is a deep ruby color, you first think of pomegranate juice, and then you think of how you can't go anywhere near your white carpet and how you wish you weren't wearing a light-colored shirt.
The juice itself smells much like every other dark berried or pomegranate juice: sweet, fragrant, and a little oaky. And while the taste is much like pomegranate juice, the tart flavor is lightened by a sweet, fruity berry flavor. I chalked the sweetness up to the blueberries, although the aftertaste was slightly sweeter than pomegranate/blueberry juice.
I hate to constantly compare yumberry juice to pomegranate, but they're actually quite similar. So if you're a Pom fan, definitely hunt this stuff down — I found mine at Whole Foods — and if you're feeling adventurous try cooking with it or mixing up a cocktail. After all, a Pomtini sounds divine, but doesn't a Yumtini sound even better?
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NUM! What part of the grocery store do we find this?