Simple Uses for Raspberries

 

When you have a large crop of raspberries from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include them in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use them up before they go bad without getting sick of them.  You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.

Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple!  Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve raspberries:

The uses below refer to the berries unless another part of the plant is mentioned.

• Add them to oatmeal, amaranth, and other hot grains.

• Top toast, crostini, crackers, or bagels with raspberries, basil, and cream cheese.

• Add them to zucchini bread and other quickbreads.

• Add them to muffins, scones, and other baked goods, alone or with chocolate.  Raspberries also make good additions to sweet baked goods like cookies and brownies.

• Add the leaves and roots to soups and broths.

• Toss them with strawberries and blackberries.  Add lime juice and spearmint if desired.

• Use them as Walls of an Interesting Salad.  (Wondering why I capitalized those letters?  Read more about Interesting Salads here!)

• Add them to other salads.

• Add them to smoothies.

• Make infused vinegar with the leaves.  Raspberry leaf-infused vinegar makes a great salad dressing or dressing base, among other uses.  Raspberry leaves can be infused in vinegar by themselves or with lemon verbena and spearmint.

• Make infused water with them, alone or with catmint.

• Make a tea.  Raspberry leaves and fruits make a good tea (infusion) on their own.  They can also be added to a tea blend with peppermint and lemon verbena.  Raspberry roots can be added to a decoction.

• Make a tincture with the leaves.  An herb:solvent weight ratio of 1:5 at 40% alcohol is suggested for a raspberry leaf tincture.

• Make jam or jelly with raspberries alone or in combination with strawberries and catmint.

• Freeze them whole to save them for later.

• Dry or dehydrate the leaves and roots for later use.  See our How to Dry Your Herbs articles here for more information.

Further Reading

Growing raspberries?  Check out these quick facts like their best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.

Raspberries are also featured in these articles:

• Quick Facts: Growing Raspberries

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