Native Raspberry – from garden to plate #7
This will be the final garden to plate post, pretty good considering I planned for a series of four originally. Want more? Asparagus, Avocado, Beetroot, Carambola, Jackfruit, Mulberry.
I love foraging. Unfortunately I don’t know about much that is edible and grows wild on the farm, these native raspberries being the one tasty exception. There are some wild strawberries but eating those results in a similar reaction to when Homer eats the ‘super sour ball’ (that video is in Spanish, but you get the idea), the native raspberries are much more pleasant eating.
They grow wild, in ditches and along fence lines, a weed complete with sharp spikes which makes walking away with hands full all the more rewarding. These aren’t devilish spikes like those found on finger lime trees, just annoying little prickles that will leave you feeling like a pin cushion and make collecting these berries a slightly more arduous task. And like mulberries, these fruits were never collected in my childhood, just eaten straight off the bushes, sun warmed and tender.
These native fruits, also known as Atherton Raspberries, lack the sour sweetness of regular raspberries are drier but are more fragrant, though some do sometimes taste decidedly of grass to me. I prefer regular raspberries for their juiciness and flavour punch, but these milder native cousins are so much for affordable (free!) and accessible in Australia. Careful though, this plant is an invasive weed in some areas.
I foraged for a bunch of fruit in their Spring prime, and couldn’t bear to cook them. Just like the first raspberries of the season are always best enjoying lolling on the cream atop a pavlova, these hard earning beauties needed to be enjoyed simply. Rich thick greek-style yoghurt, a mess of native raspberries and mulberries, topped with large crystals of raw sugar and a squeeze of lime. Somehow though, I think I still prefer eating them marooned inside a spiky thicket, moving only enough to pluck the next berry with the hot sun on my back.
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
6 Comments
These are some nice looking berries. I wonder if they make good jam.
.-= Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last blog ..The Ten Commandments of the Grill – Cafe de Paris Butter =-.
I never heard of these before… great find on a country walk. Really wonderful photos too!
.-= deana@lostpastrememb´s last blog ..Kentucky Derby Day: Cocktails, Sandwiches & Secretariat =-.
Never heard of these but they look amazing – so plump, juicy and unblemished. I love your description too, so visually powerful – I can imagine you imprisoned inside that thorny bush foraging for berries.
Great post!
.-= Forager´s last blog ..A lobster feast at Golden Globe Seafood Restaurant, Burwood =-.
Mark @ Cafe Campana: Jam is an interesting thought! I am not sure that they would make good jam, because the flavour isn’t very strong and would probably get lost amongst all the sugar. But it would be a cheap experiment to run!
deana@lostpastrememb: Thank you!
Forager: Dude, anything for some sweet berries
Hi, I would like to know how I could get my hands of some native raspberries. I wouldn’t need much. Not much more than half a kilo.
It is for my HSC ‘major project’ for Aboriginal Studies. Therefore it is extremely important.
If anyone could help me out, I would really appreciate it.
Unfortunately I’m in South Korea right now, so I can’t help you out with the raspberries. Plus, I’m not sure of their season and if the overabundance of rain has damaged them at all. Good luck!