It's that time of year again, the black raspberries are ripening which means it is also time to start creating deliciousness. I started growing them probably about 5 or so years ago. I saw them at a local nursery and they piqued my interest. I had never heard of a black raspberry, which I found out is pretty common. When I mentioned to friends I was working on recipes to use my black raspberries, the first response I would get is "oh don't you mean black berries?". Nope, I mean raspberries that are black. I'm guessing most people don't know there are actually 3 colors of raspberries, red, black, and yellow aka golden. After starting out with around 5 plants that originated in repurposed blue barrels I cut in half that I got free from my work, I now have a row that is 20 or so feet long and about 2-3 feet deep. They didn't confine themselves to the barrels for very long. They wanted to spread their wings, or roots as it were. The canes grew long enough to droop over the side of the barrel and root into the ground. Since I had trouble finding something that would thrive in that part of the yard I thought eh why not let them spread to their little hearts content. And spread they did.
It was a little confusing initially when I saw the berries developing, they were bright red, I thought well I guess they marked the plants wrong. I soon discovered they do start out as red but as they ripen, they turn black. Izzy my little food obsessed pug does not wait for them them to turn black, she does not discriminate by color at all. As soon as those berries start to form, she is out there munching away. I can always tell where she had been, all the berries along the bottom are gone. She will get on her hind legs to try to set some higher up and just end up squishing them. By the end of their season which is usually about mid-July I am able to harvest a few pounds, more if I can keep Izzy away from them. You will not typically find these in the grocery store. Instead look for them at farmer's markets. There are also a few companies online that sell the freeze dried powder, which can get a little spendy.
If you are not familiar with black raspberries, it consists of two species R. occidentalis and R. leucodermis which are native to the United States. They are part of the rose family along with apples, pears, peaches, strawberries and even almonds. Black raspberries also known as black caps differ in flavor to traditional red raspberries, I have never tried the golden raspberries so I cannot speak to flavor differences with them. To me black raspberries have more of a light floral taste which is sweet but not overly so. A few friends that tried them felt they were sweeter than red raspberries. However, it is not their taste or appearance that makes them stand out, it is their overabundance of health benefits, which is partly what drew me to them. I figured they had to have good antioxidant content since most dark fruits and veggies do, boy was I in for a surprise to find out just how healthy these little black gems are.
A large portion of research has been focused on its potential to assist in cancer treatment. The research shows ties to oral/pharyngeal, colon, breast and cervical cancers. In an Ohio State University study, rats fed a diet high in black raspberries experienced decreases in colon tumors, as well as esophageal tumors in mice. University studies are showing the potential to slow the growth or even reverse breast, colon, cervical, oral and pharyngeal cancers. It is thought their high level of ellagic acid may be responsible for this benefit considering ellagic acid has been found to be anticarinogenic, antiviral, and antibacterial.
Black raspberries are incredibly high in antioxidants which show in its ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) value of 77 µmoles/TE/g which is about 3 times higher than blueberries. What does 77 µmoles/TE/g actually mean? I had to figure that out too. The value is measured in micromoles of Trolox equivalent in grams. Trolox is a synthetic antioxidant used as a standard comparison. One gram of black raspberries contains the antioxidant capacity equivalent of 77 micromoles of Trolox. This is pretty high considering blueberries is 24 µmoles/TE/g, strawberries is 15 µmoles/TE/g, and dark chocolate comes in a little behind the black raspberries at 55 µmoles/TE/g. So why are high ORAC foods important? They help combat oxidative stress and inflammation which as we know a lot of chronic diseases have those two things often at their core or are a contributing factor.
Besides their stellar antioxidant content, they also contain Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin A, Manganese, Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, and Iron. Although they do not contain the total recommended daily amounts of those nutrients, every little bit helps.
We have been under this heat dome that has affected large parts of the western U.S. giving us temperatures in the triple digits for about a week now. I already have difficulties with the heat, I feel like the wicked witch of the west "I'm melting". When the thermometer on my porch read 106 degrees in the shade, I knew it was time to make ice cream. With the help of Chat GPT I was able to come up with a vegan black raspberry lemon ice cream recipe. Although it turned out to be more of a sorbet, but regardless of what it's called, it is amazing. Besides sorbet I am going to attempt to make jam with them as well as a black raspberry lemonade, which could also be turned into popsicles or frozen and used in my Kitchen Aide shaved ice attachment. The possibilities are endless. Even though they have a slightly different flavor compared to red raspberries you can use them interchangeably.
If you are not able to procure fresh or frozen berries but would still like to take advantage of their health benefits here are some suppliers of the freeze dried powder:
References:
Chat GPT
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