Berry delicious
It’s nearly summer, which means one thing: berry season. This month, Elisha Young (aka @elisha.eats on Instagram) is talking all about raspberries and why you should love them – despite their annoying seeds
They say ‘good things never last’. Raspberries heard that and decided to take it to heart.
No matter my noble intentions, I always end up pulling a punnet from my fridge to find delicate white mould sprouting from at least one fruit – and then several others seem to have completely given up on existence and collapsed into dejected black heaps. Clearly, the only solution is to wash and consume every single raspberry as soon as I purchase it, but that sounds like a good recipe for a stomach ache.
I was going to start this piece by going on about how everyone likes raspberries, so I don’t need to sell them to you. But I originally thought that about strawberries, and it turns out there are extremely odd people out there who don’t like those. So, I’m directing my words at those of you who haven’t developed a proper palate yet.
With a delicate, slightly floral sweetness, raspberries are beautifully soft and juicy. I’m not being pretentious by describing them as floral; they’re part of the rose family (alongside blackberries, boysenberries and dewberries). Their flavour can tend towards being slightly tart and sour, so they’re not as intensely sweet as some other summer fruits and they can cut through sugary desserts nicely. That’s why there’s nothing more summery than the zingy, fresh and sour combination of raspberries with a sprig of mint.
For the best fresh raspberries, I recommend Cambridge Market, where you can peruse stalls selling lovely local produce. This also means you can pick out the punnet which looks the freshest (and least likely to become aggressively mouldy). I particularly like those road-side stalls you sometimes see because they are amazing value for money and mean you can stock up on fruit that’s still sun-warmed and delicious. Local greengrocers are a great choice, too.
Still a bit dubious? Try one of the raspberry ripple flavours from the ever-changing Jack’s Gelato menu for a vibrant fruity burst swirled through smooth and creamy gelato. If you’ve already been inducted into the raspberry fan club, then the Chez Amélie Cafe at Poodles Play Park is the place for you.
Chef Regis Crepy frequently turns out edible works of art, including tarte aux framboises, fruit tarts and French eclairs topped with berries. Or, if you prefer your fruit in liquid form, Parker’s Tavern serves a very fun cocktail called the Bloomsbury Boozer, which includes raspberries and is topped with a head of puffy raspberry foam. Cheers!
One of the only real downsides to raspberries is their intense seediness. They are chock-full of tiny little nibs intent
on getting stuck in your teeth. But I have the ideal summer dessert to help you get around this fatal flaw: raspberry posset. I’ve heard it claimed that only 70-year-old British people know what posset is, but it’s completely delicious and very low effort – no oven involved.
First, make raspberry puree by macerating fresh raspberries in a little sugar, then blend the mixture until it’s smooth and pass it through a sieve to catch all those troublesome seeds. Bring double cream and sugar to the boil and simmer for five minutes, then add fresh lemon juice and a good helping of your raspberry puree. Pour into small glasses and leave to set in the fridge for at least three hours.
The acidity of the lemon will set the cream so it becomes luxurious and scoopable, with a mouth-watering raspberry kick. But beware – it is addictively good!
