Fresh raspberries are one of the great joys of summer. Sweet, tender ruby raspberries are perfect for eating out of your hand, piled in a bowl of ice cream, heaped onto shortcake biscuits with a dollop of whipped cream, or turned into the famous Melba sauce (to drizzle over grilled peach halves) or jarfuls of jam. On the savory side, raspberries can be paired with chicken and pork or tossed into salads.
June’s unseasonably chilly temperatures and excessive rain delayed some fruits from ripening early in the season, but they only need a few days of sunshine to catch up. “They prefer the cooler weather,’’ says Nate Nourse, co-owner of Nourse Farms in Whately, although too much rain, he adds, can be hard on the berries and lead to infection. Growers wait for sun - for the berries to gain size and flavor - and dry days for optimal picking conditions. Raspberries, so fragile and perishable, must be picked when they’re dry.
Local berries are back on farmstands. Some farms, including Nourse Farms, have pick-your-own fields. “The biggest problem with that is the amount that ends up consumed,’’ says Nourse.
Jam maker Bonnie Shershow looks forward to berry season each year so she can cook up large pots of fruit for her immensely flavorful Bonnie’s Jams. Gordon Hamersley, chef and owner of Hamersley’s Bistro in the South End, uses fresh raspberries in tarts and summer pudding, paired with duck, and sprinkled on a grilled cabbage salad with hazelnuts, orange, and a creamy yogurt dressing. The rest of us can simply spoon the berries and their flavorful juices over homemade biscuits for a real treat.
