Raspberry

Walking in the middle of summer through a beech forest adds the pleasure of the incessant play of light and shadow with the reward of small surprises. The understory is pearled with pleasant-tasting berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

Among them, raspberries stand out, for being sweet, juicy and very beneficial to health. Some confuse them with wild strawberries and blackberries, all of them from a very prolific family, because they have underground stems from which shoots with similar leaves emerge.

The raspberry is larger than the tiny forest strawberries and smaller than cultivated strawberries. While strawberries present all their seeds on the outside, raspberries form small balloons, like blackberries, with a seed inside that is barely noticeable.

They are distinguished from blackberries by their pink color, their more elongated shape and a slightly more acidic taste. They bloom from May to June and they are harvested in august, when they are quite ripe.

Each raspberry consists of about eighty drupes full of juice, and its exact degree of ripeness can be recognized because they come off easily.

raspberry properties

It is one of the least caloric fruits: only 32 calories per 100 g. Up to 87% of its weight is water, and it does not stand out as a source of protein, fat or carbohydrates (the latter are simple sugars such as fructose, and soluble fiber such as pectin).

Regarding minerals, it contributes significant amounts of manganese (up to 34% of the minimum recommended intake per day), iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and potassium, and is low in sodium.

It stands out for its content in vitamins and organic acids: beta-carotene, vitamin C, folic acid, citric, salicylic, malic, tartaric acids and especially vitamin E.

A 200 g serving of raspberries covers 75% of the daily requirement of vitamin E, without providing fat, unlike other foods rich in this nutrient.

Although in smaller quantities, it provides B vitamins, especially B2 and B6.

It also contains phytochemical substances with antioxidant power, such as ellagic acid, quercetin, cyanidin or anthocyanins.

They have very little sugar (5.8 mg/100 g), mostly fructose, so they are well tolerated by diabetics.

Health benefits of raspberries

The wealth of nutrients and plant chemical compounds of its own explain its effects on the body.

Faced with fatigue Their nutritional richness makes them suitable for consumption in case of spring fatigue, while their high percentage of water makes them, taken raw, ideal for purifying cures.Detox. Its organic acids and trace elements exert a detoxifying action, highly appreciated in people with rheumatism and gout, as well as for weight loss diets.Stimulates the appetite. The raspberry, that berry with a dark reddish color and an intense acid flavor that we can savor in all its splendor during the summer, its best moment, is tonic and aperitif, that is, it stimulates the appetite.Reduce the cholesterol. The fats present in its seeds, although scarce, are highly recommended. Together with its soluble fiber (pectin), its antioxidant compounds, such as vitamin E, and its low sodium content, make raspberries a suitable food for control of cholesterol, hypertension and cardiovascular disorders. Purifying fiber. Its soluble fiber helps improve intestinal transit. But in addition, it exerts an inhibitory effect on substances that are potentially harmful to the body, such as cholesterol or bile acids.

What it does is join these compounds and drag them to be expelled with the feces, performing purifying work. Due to its potassium and sodium content, and the good relationship between the two, it also has a diuretic effect.

People who suffer from kidney failure and follow low-potassium diets should moderate their consumption.

You can prepare the leaves in infusion

If you have a raspberry plant, you can also take advantage of the leaves.

With raspberry leaves, which are rich in tannins, organic acids and flavonoids, infusions can be made that have been traditionally used to relieve menstrual cramps (You have to take it before a few days before the period begins).

It is also effective to regulate intestinal transit (it has an astringent action, unlike the fruits), promote contractions during childbirth and in cases of cystitis, oliguria and renal lithiasis.

You can also use it like mouthwash for inflamed gums, as well as to gargle in case of pharyngitis.

raspberries in the kitchen

The relationship in the kitchen with this fruit must be careful and brief, since its delicacy does not resist much fuss.

The ideal would be do not wash it so as not to alter it too much, but there are those who choose to do so even though it comes from organic farming, does not touch the ground and is harvested by hand with great care.

We must know that its flavor will be diluted a bit and the most mature ones can deteriorate, if we do so.

As for their cooking, the heat does not benefit them or bring them anything positive, at least in terms of nutritional value, color or flavor.

Heat destroys many of your most precious nutrients, such as vitamin E and other antioxidant substances. The color darkens and the flavor alters, losing complexity and freshness, so it is much better to eat them raw whenever possible.

Purchase and conservation

Raspberry is a very perishable product. It is normal that a few have to be thrown out of a tub.

When buying them, you have to make sure that there are no crushed, broken or moldy ones.

must keep in the fridge and be consumed in a maximum of 3 or 4 days; some varieties resist longer, although they tend to be stiffer and tougher.

If you are lucky enough to grow them at home, in addition to the traditional jams, can be frozen in puree form or coulis and also whole.

They keep very well, but you have to be careful to consume them quickly once thawed.